Baby Formula
by KayLynn911
Summary: Brittany is close to nine months pregnant, and due in a few weeks at most. Alex is working all the time, and Britt is under a lot of stress. What could possibly happen?
1. Chapter 1: Brittany

**Thanks to all of my loyal readers that author alerted me and favorite both me and my story! This one is for you guys.**

_**Brittany**_

"I feel like a water balloon…" I groan, tossing another shirt aside that wouldn't fit. I hear Alex laugh and I shoot him a glare. He flashes a goofy smile and runs his hands over my bare protruding stomach.

The baby kicks.

"A very beautiful water balloon," he smiles, kissing me. Suck-up. I sigh and complain,

"I have nothing to wear, Alex…nothing fits."

"Here," he says, opening the dresser in our bedroom and pulling out one of his shirts, "This should fit."

I take it and slip in on, frowning.

"See? It fits perfectly," he says, grabbing his keys off the dresser and kissing my cheek. "I gotta go; I'll see you after work."

I offer him a small smile and whisper, "I love you."

"Love you too," he replies, kissing my forehead and then my stomach before leaving. I smile, absently rubbing my stomach and calling Sierra. I need to go shopping for the party tomorrow since apparently I have nothing to wear.

"Sierra? Are you free? I need to go shopping." I tell her that I'll swing by her place and pick her up and I grab my car keys, heading out.

I drive to her house and sit in the driveway, waiting for her to come out. I never got the whole…rub your stomach when you're pregnant thing…but now I do. I guess you just need to experience it to understand.

Sierra comes out of the house and runs up to the car, slipping inside and giving my stomach a small rub, "Good morning, Sierra junior."

I roll my eyes, "Sierra, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet."

"So? I can hope for a girl, can't I?"

"Sure, Sierra," I reply, backing out of the driveway slowly and sighing silently. I told everyone that I didn't want to know the sex of the baby until the day he or she came, and I am sticking to that.

"So, are you ready for the shower tomorrow?" she asks, excitement in her voice. She is planning something, I can tell.

"I suppose," I reply, driving us to the nearest clothing store and parking. I start to get out and groan, grabbing the handle above my head to help hoist me out of the car.

"Here, Britt, let me help," Sierra got out and ran around the car, helping me out of the car. "You know, I don't really think it's a good idea for you to be driving right now…"

"Sierra, I'm fine, I'm just fat." She goes to object and I smirk.

"Alright, fine, be that way. Pregnant woman coming through!" she yells to everyone between the car and the store. They all stop and move out of the way. I can feel the warmth in my cheeks as she drags me into the store.

I spend a few minutes rifling through some dresses before she asks,

"How's Alex? I haven't seen him around much lately."

"He's fine, I guess…he's not home much anymore, he's trying to make some extra money before the baby arrives…taking extra shifts and working late…" Sierra stops looking at clothes and out of the corner of my eye I see her frowning. My eyes start to water.

"Oh, Britt…" Sierra says, stepping closer and hugging me awkwardly to the side. I wish she hadn't done that. Tears fall down my cheeks,

"I'm fine; it's just these stupid pregnancy hormones…"

"You're not fine," she replies, brushing away a tear on my cheek and making me face her. "After we find you something to wear for tomorrow I'm taking you out to lunch, and then ice cream. How's that sound?"

I choke out a laugh and nod, wiping away the last of my tears and sighing.

"We'll be lucky if we can find something that'll fit," I say, rubbing my stomach again, which was slightly stretching Alex's shirt.

"Oh, come on, you've barely even looked and you haven't tried anything on yet. How about this?" She holds up a pink maternity dress and I pretend to look thoughtful,

"Hmm, I don't know…does it come in size nine months?" She laughs and tosses the dress at me,

"Go and try it on."

"Fine, fine…" I reply, taking the dress into a dressing room and awkwardly changing into it. I swear…I'll never get used to having this enormous belly.

I come out a few minutes later and Sierra gives me an approving smile.

"So..?" I ask, doing a little clumsy twirl and looking in the full length mirror. Sierra comes up behind me and grins,

"Perfect." It's rare to find the perfect dress on the first try, so I take it as a good sign.

Sierra buys the dress, claiming it is an early baby shower gift. I have to admit, I'm glad that she paid…money has been a little tight lately. Even with Alex working two jobs, money is tight.

Sierra treats me to lunch and then ice cream…I finish what she doesn't. When we're done, we head back towards the car.

"Do you want me to come back to the house with you…keep you company?" she asks, but I shake my head.

"No, I think I'm just going to go lay down for a while…I'm pretty tired."

"Alright," she smiles, helping me into the car and getting in so I can drop her off. I drive her home and sit in her driveway for a minute again.

"Listen…let me know if you need anything, okay? Britt?" I nod,

"I will. Thanks for the dress."

"No problem girl, call me if you need me." She gets out and heads inside, and I drive off…drive home…alone…to an empty house.

I get home and go inside, throwing my keys onto the counter and raiding the refrigerator, hungry yet again, even though I just ate.

I find some little things to munch on and devour them quickly, then head to my room and lay down on the bed. It's weird how just going out for a few hours can make you physically exhausted.

I close my eyes and turn onto my side, lying on Alex's pillow. I breathe in his scent and sigh, letting myself fall asleep enveloped in my husband's scent.

**So…Shall I continue or stop while I'm ahead? Does anyone want to read about the baby shower? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2: Alex

**Wow, thanks for the feedback guys! I didn't expect to get so many reviews so soon, so gracias. I decided to stick to the POV interchange thing, so here's an Alex chapter for ya'll. Enjoy!**

**Alex**

"Pass me that wrench there, will you?" I call to John—Enrique's new 'dancing monkey' worker.

"Here you go, Mr. Fuentes," he says cheerfully as he hands it under the car and almost pokes my eye out.

"John…how many times have I told you to call me Alex?"

"I lost track…" he admits, and I can practically picture him hanging his head in shame. This kid is really trying _way_ to impress us.

"Just…call me Alex, alright?" I say, sliding out from under the car and looking up at him. He is no older than sixteen.

I stand up and stretch, having been under that car almost all day my muscles ache and my back is stiff. Sure, the job kind of sucks but I know cars and I need the money.

I glance over at the kid and he's eyeing me like I am going to attack him. He looks intimidated beyond belief by me. I'm not all that frightening to look at, am I? No, of course not. Sure, he'd be able to see a few scars, like the ones on my arms, neck, and the one above my eyebrow, but they're faded now—you can only really see them if you know what you're looking for. Apparently this kid knows.

"Is it true?" he asks, nervous now. "Did you really quit the Blood?"

"Yeah, I did," I turn my back to him and check things under the hood…again. This car refused to work, no matter what I did to it. I've been working on it almost non-stop for about a week now, it has that many things wrong with it.

"Did it hurt..?" he asks, hesitant. I turn around and he steps back as I give him my famous 'are you fucking kidding me' look. This is this boys first day working here and I'm already sick of him. He's sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, and I'm getting sick of his questions.

"Do you have a lot of scars?" his eyes grow wide, "How did you survive?" I grip the wrench in my hand tighter, taking a deep breath.

"Okay kiddo, that's enough questions for today. Leave Alex alone." Enrique grabs the kids shoulder and says, "Go take out the trash and go home"

"Yes sir," John says, practically running out back to get the trash.

"He asks too many questions that he really doesn't want answers to," I say, getting back to work as I carry on the conversation.

"Yeah, he's just nervous. He's a good kid, though—and you have to admit, he's better than the last trainee." I shudder visibly. "My point exactly."

I continue to work on the car, getting frustrated when it _still_ refuses to function properly. I lean against the front of the car over the engine and sigh, hearing Enrique come up beside me and lean against the passenger door.

"Alex, why don't we close up a little early…we'll go out for drinks or something. You're starting to look more and more like you need it."

"I got to finish this car up by Monday, Enrique."

"Yeah, and you've still got tomorrow, and it won't come out of your paycheck if it doesn't get done. I'll handle it. Come on, Lejo…I'll buy."

I sigh, already admitting defeat with myself. He is right; I really could use a drink…or three.

Enrique smiles, knowing that I've given in and he says, "Help me lock up and we'll go." I nod and wipe the oil and grease off my hands with a dirty rag. I pick up the tools off the floor and smile, looking a few feet to my right…memories…

"Let's go, Alex!" Enrique calls from the door, nodding towards his car. I toss the tools in their box and head out, wondering if I should let Brittany know that I'm going out. I decide that it won't matter too much; I'll be home around the same time since Enrique closed the shop early.

My cousin and I drive to the nearest bar and grabs seats at the bar. I catch Enrique eyeing the bartender and chuckle to myself as she leans on the bar and tries to look all seductive. She looks like she was a man once…I'm not even exaggerating.

"What can I get for you two handsome…" she winks at Enrique, "men tonight?"

"I uh—" Enrique stutters, "Two beers, and keep 'em coming."

"Right away, sugar," she smirks, walking away wiggling her hips for him.

"Uh, Enrique…" I start to say,

"_Cállate la boca_…"

I laugh and look around the bar. It's not very crowded, all these people are probably locals—regulars. There's a girl dancing to the song playing over by the stereo system, and with her back to me she kind of looks like Brittany. She has the same golden hair, the same height…but I know it's not her. I'm seeing her everywhere lately, and yet…I really haven't seen her that much.

I sigh, I should be home with her now, not here having a drink and watching some girl that looks like Brittany dance…but the stress of the past few months is really getting to me, and if I don't relax just a little bit, I might crack.

Britt's car broke down a few weeks ago, a pipe burst in our bathroom, the doctor's appointments, the birthing classes, work, money…it is all just getting to be too much. I'm not so sure I can keep all this up when the baby comes, but I'll sure as hell try.

"Lejo? Hello? You in there?" Enrique broke my little trance by waving his hand in front of my face. I shake my head and look over at him; he nods to the girl sitting next to me. "This _fine_ young lady asked you if you'd buy her a drink…"

"I…" I look at the girl, the girl I had been watching dance. She didn't look so much like Brittany up close, which made me want to go home to her even more now. I look down at my wedding ring and her eyes follow mine.

"Oh!" she says, a bit bubbly, "I won't tell her if you don't…" she says, leaning closer and rubbing against me. I shy away and go to tell her off, but Enrique steps in,

"Why don't you let me buy you a drink?" Her eyes locked with his and she smirks, dancing around me and finding a seat on Enrique's lap. I look away from their little scene and look at the time—11:36pm.

_Mierda_

"Enrique. I'm heading out. It's getting late and Britt expected me home an hour ago."

"Oh…alright, do you need a ride back to the shop?" he asks, distracted by the candy on his lap. I'd rather not ride in a car with the two of them.

"Nah, I'll just walk, it's not that far. See you tomorrow, man," I say, slipping on my leather jacket and finishing my third…or fourth beer. I toss some bills down on the bar as a tip and head for the door.

"Hasta mañana_, _Alex."

I walk out onto the street, glad to be out of the cramped hole-in-the-wall sized bar. The cool night air is refreshing and I'm glad I decided to walk as I let myself just relax. I head towards the shop, listening to the distant sirens in the background of the dimly lit street, and the voices of the kids hanging out in the alleyways.

I'm not worried about them. I'd be left alone. This area is Blood turf, I would know, and I know that they won't touch me. My family and I would be safe from them for the rest of our lives because of what I did, because of the sacrifice I made to secure their safe future. Enrique told me that my name is practically a legend now, but none of that matters. They knew my face and knew to stay away, that's what matters.

I get to the shop and straddle my bike, turning on the engine and letting it purr for a minute before I drive off towards home—towards Brittany—towards reality.

My little break, although extremely short, is over…and now I have to go home, got to sleep, wake up, and do it all over again. Not to mention I've been without my best stress reliever for about…nine months now…

I get home and park my bike next to Britt's car, then head inside. I yawn as I pile my things onto the table and head into the bedroom. I crawl into bed, kicking off my shoes—too tired to change—and wrap my arms around Britt's sleeping form. She stirs a little and I smile, closing my eyes and falling asleep almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.

**Next chapter is the baby shower! Review if you want it!**


	3. Chapter 3: Brittany

**Now…what you've all been waiting for…for the past…two…chapters…ish…**

**Brittany**

_It's about time he got home…_

I turn around to face him, my watermelon-sized stomach preventing us from getting too close, but I got as close as I could anyways—I just need to hold him close. I need him now more than ever, and so does the baby. The due date is coming up so fast, and I won't lie…I'm scared.

I grip his shirt lightly and pull him a little closer. He moves in his sleep, inching closer to me as I snuggle into his chest, breathing in his scent. I actually kind of like it when he doesn't shower after work—his hard day's work lingers on him. I open my eyes and look at him, watching him sleep silently. There's something different…

I lean in closer. Is that alcohol on his breath? And…there's something else. I smell his sleeve. Perfume? Perfume that isn't mine…

Oh no, no, no, no…impossible. He's never cheat on me. Not Alex.

I read somewhere once that men are most likely to cheat during their first year of marriage…

No. I look at my sleeping husband. Not Alex.

The baby kicks and I shift to find a more comfortable position for him…or her. I'll just ask him about the perfume in the morning…I'm tired, and he's already asleep.

I close my eyes and fall asleep to the sound of his rhythmic breathing. My husband…my _faithful_ husband…

*****

"Britt! The door was unlocked so I just let myself in, hope you don't mind." Sierra's voice wakes me and I hear her walk into the bedroom. She pauses by the doorway and gasps, "What are you doing still in bed?" She pulls the covers off me and I groan.

"What time is it?" I mumble against my pillow.

"Almost eleven!" she says, "Come on, let's go! Up!"

"Alex…" I reach blindly, gripping the cool sheets beside me.

"…left for work hours ago."

"Oh…" I say back, wondering why he didn't wake me to say goodbye like he usually did.

"Come on, Britt. Out of bed, now! We need to get you ready for the shower."

I sigh and start out of bed, pausing at the edge and letting out a breath. Why must the kid sit right on my bladder? I head off to the bathroom and see a note on the mirror. I smile and take it down, reading it.

_Britt,_

_I didn't want to wake you this morning; I figured you'd need the extra sleep for your shower (having to deal with your mother and all). Have fun, and I'll see you tonight when I get home from work._

_Love you,_

_Alex_

I smile and fold the note—any doubts I had last night gone.

"Here," Sierra says, walking right into the bathroom and handing me my dress from yesterday, "Put this on, we have to be at your parent's house at noon."

"My parent's house? I thought—"

"Yeah, umm…something came up. Don't worry about it. I handled it."

"Alright, I guess," I reply, a bit skeptical. I take the dress and slip on…well, more like struggle…but, I win.

I come out of the bathroom a few minutes later and Sierra attacks my face with her make-up bag…so to speak. I follow orders as she complains about the bags under my eyes—most likely there from waiting for Alex to get home last night.

"Okay, all set…oh! And we're running late, come on," she heaves me up off my chair and helps me get my stuff together, which isn't all that much—cellphone, house key, wallet…the note from Alex.

We go out to Sierra's car and I get in slowly, then we head off to my parent's house. I'm not so sure about this shower thing, I mean, I'm excited and all, but I'm not really sure how it's going to go.

I'm hungry.

"Sierra? Can we stop and get something to eat? I'm starving."

"There'll be plenty of food at the party, Britt," she replies, pulling onto my old street. I haven't been to my parent's in a long time. My mother hadn't been very thrilled about the baby, mainly because it's mine with Alex, so we kept our distance.

We get to the house, and it's about time, my stomach is practically growing up a storm. Sierra has to park on the street because of all the cars in the driveway. Great, I'll have to wobble up to my own party. Well, my baby's party.

Ten minutes later, Sierra and I get to the door and we go inside. I find a seat and sit down, physically exhausted already. Sierra goes off to get me some food and I'm greeted by a few faces.

"My God, Brittany, you're huge!"

"Thanks Isa, love you too," I reply, not hiding the sarcasm in my voice.

I feel about three people rubbing my stomach. I swear, by the end of this party I'm going to feel like a Buddha figurine. Sierra brings me my food, enough for two—which I'm thankful for. I eat and then wander about my party, chatting and eating more. I pause by the make-your-own onesie table.

I smile and look through a few of the ones already done. There is one that says 'Poops…I did it again,' and another that says 'I love my mommy and daddy'. I laugh and sit down to make one. I use the markers and glitter pens to make one that says: My Daddy Can Kick Your Daddy's Butt.

Isa finds me again and flashes me a smile as she sits next to me and sees what I'm working on.

"Yeah, I know, this table's for the guests…"

"It's alright; I think we can spare a onesie for the mother-to-be." I look at her, her words taking a second or two to register fully. I'm going to be a mother. "Britt? Do you want to start the cake and presents soon?"

I look at her again and nod, "Yeah, cake sounds good." She laughs and I hobble to my feet and head off to the kitchen with her.

"How are you doing?" she asks, her arm weaving with mine as we walk.

"The morning sickness went away…but the cravings are killer," I smile.

"Oh, yeah? What are you craving now?"

"Pickles…" She looks at me, seeing if I'm serious, and we both giggle.

"Come on everyone! Cake time!" Sierra calls out, bringing out this huge cake decorated much like the rest of the house—a mixture of pink and blue. No one knows what I'm having yet, not even me, so everything is pretty neutral.

I sit down by the presents and smile at my sister as she squeals out, "Bwiee!" She smiles that lopsided smile that I love and I take her hand and gently lay it on my stomach. She likes that. She likes it even more when at the mention of Alex, the baby kicks. She squeals, happy, and then again when she gets her piece of cake.

The cake is amazing, absolute heaven on Earth. I have two pieces of it.

The party is far from over though, and it takes me about an hour to get through and open all the presents, even with Shelley there to help me. Sierra jots down every name and gift so we can do thank you cards, and I glow in anticipation of using all this stuff. There are pacifiers, bottles, toys, bibs, more onesies…It's all getting me kind of excited.

After the presents Isa came out into the living room with a guitar. I give her an odd look but she ignores it and sits down in a chair.

"Ready everyone? One, two, one, two, three…"

Everyone at the party starts to sing:

_Hush, little baby, don't say a word.  
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird_

And if that mockingbird won't sing,  
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass,  
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass

_And if that looking glass gets broke,  
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat_

And if that billy goat won't pull,  
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull

And if that cart and bull fall down,  
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town

The song makes me laugh, cry, smile, and just about everything else you can think of. It is so sweet of everyone to sing to me like this. I bet Sierra got this idea from _Gilmore Girls_ or something like that. She was obsessed with that show growing up.

Isa finishes the song with one last strum of the guitar—I didn't even know that she could play guitar! I smile and clap, thanking everyone for their sweet gesture and their gifts.

The party comes to an end and I sit there, exhausted and missing my husband. I need to see him, I can't wait until late tonight again. I look over at Sierra, who is going to bring me home and I smirk,

"Sierra? The baby wants to visit daddy on the way home."

Sierra turns to me and laughs, nodding, "Sure, Britt, I'll go get the car."

**Reviews are like crack…I NEED more.**


	4. Chapter 4: Alex

**Okay, so I know I'm kind of slow to update but bare with me here, you can't rush perfection…well…my excuse for perfection. Enjoy this little baby lemon.**

**Alex**

"Wait…so it's lefty loosey, righty tighty?" John asks, holding a wrench and wielding the thing like it is a weapon. I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger,

"Yes," I hiss in reply, confiscating the wrench from him and using it to tighten the last bolt.

"What's the difference betw—" I cut him off, sick of his never-ending questions—thank God I only work here on the weekends. The lab is going to feel like heaven compared to this. Although, this work here seems like more of a hobby compared to working in the lab.

"Done. That should be it…go try and start her up, John." He runs over to the driver's seat and leans in, turning the key in the ignition—it purrs to life. I close my eyes and let out a long happy sigh. Finally. I open my eyes and excitement at finishing this nuiscence of a car.

_"__¡__Carajo!..._Yes!" I lean over the engine and check everything, listening to her sound. She is done, finally done.

"Fuentes, you better watch your mouth around the kids," I hear. I almost slam my head against the hood as I turn quickly to see her. She's smirking at me from the doorway, her arms folded across her chest—which I notice has grown quite a bit. What? I'm a guy, I notice these things. She looks amazing.

"Britt, what are you doing here?" I wipe off my hands and walk towards her—a thousand scenarios going through my head as to why she is here. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with the baby?" I ask first, mainly because that's my greatest fear at the moment. The doctor told us that we might have problems with the pregnancy; he even made Brittany gain weight. We've been lucky so far, I just hope our luck doesn't run out.

"The baby is fine," she smiles.

"The car?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," she says, wrapping her arms around my neck and letting her stomach sit comfortably between us two. "I just needed to see my husband, and well…" she looks down at her stomach and then back up at me, "…the baby always kicks more when you're around."

I laugh softly and give her a kiss, which she returns—making me want more.

"Rique? I'm taking my break now," I call out, still looking into the eyes of my beautiful wife. She smiles, God how I love that smile.

"Didn't you just take a break, Alejo?"

"That didn't count as my break; I told you it was a matter of my sanity. Plus, I have a visitor…"

"A visitor?" Enrique slides out from under a car on the other side of the garage and smiles upon seeing Britt. "Ah, Mrs. Fuentes…you look lovely."

"Thank you…" she blushes, looking past me to see Enrique. She really does look lovely today.

"How long 'til we add another member to the family?" he asks, sitting up and leaning against the bumper.

"About three weeks, hopefully," she laughs. I catch myself staring at her lips and cut in.

"I'm going to take her into the office so she can have a place to sit."

"Alright man," he replies, smirking a little to himself. We used to use the office all the time to, uh, sneak a few minutes alone. He knows.

It is my turn to smirk though as John starts pestering him with questions about Brittany. I hear Enrique swear to himself in Spanish.

I lead Brittany into the office and close the door behind us, easing her down into a seat. She pulls me down with her and I end up kneeling between her legs, close to the baby.

"How was your party?" I ask, running my hand over her stomach and feeling the baby kick. I guess she's right; the baby does kick a lot when I'm around.

"Surprisingly good. Sierra outdid herself yet again. Doug is going to help bring the stuff to the house tomorrow. It's about time he put that gas-guzzler of a truck to some use anyway."

I smile and kiss her stomach, looking up at her. It felt as if I hadn't seen her in weeks—but I have seen her, just not nearly enough.

"Are you coming home late again tonight?" she asks, looking away from my eyes as she waits for the answer.

"Coming home late? Oh, no. Last night Enrique bought me a drink down at the bar across from Marty's. It was a one time thing, I promise."

She seems pleased with my answer and she whispers a faint, "Good" before her sweet lips meet mine. Her hand runs along my cheek and jaw as she speaks, "I miss you being home, Alex."

"I know, Britt, and I hate being away from you and the baby. I don't want to work all the time and I won't once the baby is born. We'll figure out something then, I promise you, I'll figure out something.

I see her smile and I stand up, leaning in to kiss her forehead. She tilts her head up to meet my kiss and then I feel her hands at my waist, right at my pants line. Her fingers hook onto my belt loops and jerk me closer to her.

"And _I _promise…to take better care of _you_…" she says, gently undoing the button and the zipper of my jeans. I think she stuns me, because for a second there I can't think, never mind move.

Here?

Now?

She stands and slides her hand down my inner thigh, her skin cold against mine. My body betrays me at her touch…_la tengo dura…_

Involuntarily I let out a moan and my hands roam her curves. I kiss her, letting myself relax, finally able to have some alone time with her. Her hand shifts in my jeans and I stiffen a little bit. Her other hand roams up my shirt, tracing the muscles of my back, massaging between them where I'm tense.

My hands seem confused as to what to do, not to mention the huge distraction…they explore up the bottom of her dress, lifting the fabric just enough to hook her panties. I grab on to the fabric and feel her lips at my ear, hear her breathing, feel her lips gently caress my neck…

"Alex, we have a customer," Enrique says, knocking on the door twice. I freeze.

"Looks like my break's over…" Neither one of us moves at first, but the next thing I know she's buttoning my pants back up and fixing her dress. I groan, but she doesn't seem too phased by this. She kisses my lips again and steps back,

"To be continued then…" she smirks and looks down at my jeans, rubbing her hand against me as she walks past, whispering, "Down boy…"

I hear the door close behind me and I look down.

"_Mierda…"_

**AN: You wanted a chapter with them together, so that's what you got. Did you enjoy? I can't know if you don't review! So do it now!...Please?**


	5. Chapter 5: Brittany

**ATTENTION READERS!**

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**For those of you who looked at this bolded section and decided not to read it, well…shame on you, and your loss. I'm trying to teach you how to be better readers and make the authors happy so they write faster and write more lemons. I personally hate reviews that say, "Update" or "ah"…Really guys, come on; give me a little more than that.**

**Brittany**

I walk out of the office beaming, I can feel the heat in my face and apparently I'm not very good at disguising my blush. Enrique smiles a knowing smile and waves as I head out the door to Sierra's car. She's flipping through one of my baby magazines, circling things I still need. I roll my eyes and slide into the seat.

Sierra looks up, looks at my slightly messed up hair and swollen lips and laughs slightly.

"I take it things went well," she says, turning on her car and pulling out of the parking lot.

"Oh yes, very well," I reply, still in a bit of a daze. I can't wait until tonight, when my man comes home from work and I help him…relax.

"Oh geez, I know that look," Sierra laughs, pulling into my street and parking in front of my house.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say, giving her an innocent look. She shakes her head and helps me inside, bringing a box or two of the gifts from the party inside. I guess I really didn't realize how much I got until now—Doug's bringing the rest over tomorrow and he said he'd help set up the crib. I love my friends.

She plops down on my couch and sighs, "What a day. Did you like your party?"

"Of course I liked my party, Sierra." I laugh. "Thank you."

She smiles, "Hey, where's the remote? _10 Things I Hate About You_ is supposed to be on this afternoon."

"Check the table," I reply from in the kitchen. I grab some snacks and sit next to her on the couch to watch one of our favorite movies.

I fall asleep towards the end and when I wake from my little nap Sierra is making dinner. I head into the kitchen and the delicious scent of whatever she is cooking hits me hard—I realize that I'm starving, yet again. My baby definitely has their daddy's appetite.

"Hungry?" Sierra asks, already knowing the answer. She could probably see me drooling at this point.

"Yes, yes, yes." She smiles and checks the oven,

"It's almost done, go sit down."

I nod and take my seat at the table, which is already set. I owe her big time for all of this. A few minutes later she sits a plate in front of me and grins,

"Enjoy." I look down and let out a small laugh. Lasagna.

"I taught you how to make this," I smile, grabbing my fork and digging in. Not only does it smell good but it tastes even better. "And apparently I taught you well."

"Yeah, well I know you've had a long day and you must be tired—so I thought I'd just whip something up for us to eat, and you had everything I needed to make this, so…"

"Thanks, Sierra. I really appreciate all of this."

"What are best friends for?" We eat our dinner and catch up on some random things. I ask about Doug and she blushes—it's hard to believe that they've been together longer than Alex and I.

"Britt, can I tell you secret?"

"Since when do you ask?" I laugh, setting my fork down on my empty plate.

"I know, but…"

"But…?"

"I think he's cheating on me."

"Wait. What makes you think that?" I ask, leaning forward slightly, trying to read her face. She gave me a half-frown and ran her hand through her hair,

"I don't know. Just the little things, I guess. Coming home late, excuses…"

Her words hit hard. My suspicions from the other day surface again, but I don't voice them. I don't think either of us have anything to worry about.

"I highly doubt that he'd be that stupid, Sierra. He's crazy about you."

"You're probably right, I just…well, I don't know anymore."

"Is he home now?"

"Yes," she replies, looking at the clock.

"Okay, you are going home. You are going to talk to him and sort things out. Got it?"

She looks hesitant, as if she didn't want to go just yet. "I'll go after I do the dishes…"

"I'm fully capable of doing my own dishes, Sierra. Now stop coming up with excuses and go show your man how much you love him.

"Is this just your creative way of saying that Alex is going to be home soon and you want your alone time?" she jokes, getting up and grabbing her stuff.

"Go."

"Are you sure about those dishes?"

"Go!" I laugh and she rolls her eyes,

"Fine, fine, I'm going…" she says, walking out of the kitchen and opening the door, "See you later, honey."

I smile and watch out the window as she leaves. I doubt Doug would cheat on Sierra, especially after all this time. They were still crazy about each other—just like Alex and I were. He wouldn't cheat on her, and Alex wouldn't cheat on me.

I get up and do the dishes slowly, knowing that Alex won't be out of work for another hour or so. And if I knew him, he'd probably ask to leave early after earlier. I hum to myself and baby as I clean the dishes, the table, the counter…

The kitchen is spotless, so where's Alex?

I look at the clock; he should be getting home soon.

I wait.

And wait.

And wait…

Finally I decide to just start getting ready for bed—no harm in that. I change and brush my teeth, then sit on the edge of the bed. It's getting late.

The door creaks open and I hear Alex come in, toss his keys on the table and call out my name.

"I'm in the bedroom," I say, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm sorry I'm late, love, I got caught up with a customer."

"Oh, it's alright, you're here now, that's all that matters," I say as he walks into the room and flashes me one of his famous smiles before kissing me—really kissing me.

"I've wanted to do that ever since you left this afternoon—talk about lack of focus for the remainder of work…"

I laugh and smile up at him. I can see the love and lust in his eyes and I grab his shirt and pull him to the bed. Like he needs to be pulled…

He lies on his back and props himself up on his elbows, his legs hanging over the edge of the mattress. I smirk and run my hand down his chest. He looks amazing in white shirts—I don't know why, he just does. My hand rests on his zipper and I turn the lights off.

No more words are needed. I know how to please my man—although since I'm pregnant, I really can only do it halfway. He doesn't seem to care. On the contrary, he seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

"I love you," he says, kissing me.

"I love you too," I reply, lying back on the pillows—tired. Alex smiles and puts his arm around me, loosely. I close my eyes and sigh, content. I could stay here forever in his arms.

**Remember what I told you up top? Yeah, now's the time to do it.**


	6. Chapter 6: Alex

**Thank you all of my fantastic readers for your awesome critiques! Major confidence boost! Reviews like that make author happy, like I told you, and happy author=updates faster!!!**

_**Alex**_

_'I want a coooooool rider, A cool, cool, cool, cool rider. I want a coooooool rider, A cool, cool, cool, cool rider. I want a C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R. I need a C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R.'_

I groan and turn off Britt's sick excuse for an alarm. After forcing me to watch _Grease 2_, she thought it would be funny. Sick, sick humor…that she most likely got from me.

I roll out of bed and smile down at her as she blinks her eyes open,

"Good morning," I say, leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"Gmornin…" she mumbles into the pillow. I grab some boxers and pull them on.

I head into the kitchen and turn on the coffeemaker; Brittany usually needs it when she wakes up this early. Me? Not so much. Not that I'm a morning person at all whatsoever, but I usually drink one cup for her three. Her doctor limits her to only one cup now though, which she isn't too happy about.

I hear her come out of the bathroom and sit down at the table, tired. I pour her a cup of hot coffee—just how she likes it—and kiss the top of her head.

"Breakfast?" I ask. She tentatively sips her mug and then nods,

"Please."

French toast has been her favorite breakfast dish lately, but it doesn't look as if we have all the ingredients for it. She'll have to settle for pancakes.

I make her the pancakes and eat with her. We really didn't have all that much time together, so that's why she gets up so early—to spend time with me as I get ready for work.

"Leave the dishes, baby, it gives me something to do while you're at work," she says as I bring the dishes to the sink.

"I'm glad that I'm so easily replaced by…Tupperware." I hear her giggle and I peek at her expression over my shoulder. She has a habit of putting a hand on her stomach when she laughs now…

"Yeah, I know. The only problem is that the dishes don't speak Spanish." It's my turn to laugh now.

"Ah yes, _supongo que luego los platos siempre será el segundo major…_" I smirk slowly and she laughs again,

"I guess so."

"I gotta get ready for work," I say, heading into the bathroom to shower and shave.

She shuffles around the kitchen for a minute and then I hear her in the bedroom. I turn on the shower and strip down; taking a quick shower so I won't be late. I step out of the bathroom a few minutes later, a towel around my waist, and open the dresser in our bedroom. I get dressed for work and look around—It's strangely quiet all of a sudden.

"Britt?" I call out over my shoulder.

No answer.

"Britt?" I call out again, a little louder.

No answer.

I head into the kitchen and I see her, her back to me, clutching my shirt from last night like she is getting ready to rip it apart.

"Britt, are you—" She cuts me off,

"What's the real reason you were late coming home last night?" That catches me off guard.

"What are you talking about?" She spins around and throws the shirt at me. I look at it and automatically see what she's talking about. A bright red smudge stained the top of the back of my shirt. Memories of last night hit me—the girl from the garage, Chel.

_Mierda._

"Lipstick, Alex. Fucking lipstick! I don't wear lipstick!" She is screaming at this point,

"Britt, calm down, I can explain."

"Calm down? First the perfume, now this?" she yells, pointing at the shirt like it is a weapon that I brought in the house.

"Wait, perfume?" I am so utterly confused.

"You smelt like perfume, the other night, when you came home!"

"Britt, I have no idea what you're—" The look of pain on her face stops me from completing my thought. She whimpers and holds her stomach with one hand, using the other hand to hold herself steady on the counter.

I take a step forward but then her expression relaxes, only to curl in anger the second she saw me getting closer. I touch her arm gently, about to ask if she is alright, but she doesn't give me the chance,

"Don't touch me!" I take my hand away,

"Britt, I'm not—" This time she practically screams, clutching her stomach and squeezing her eyes shut. I wish I wasn't that guy who stands there looking like he has no idea what to do, but I am. I honestly have no clue.

"No…" Brittany hisses, "It's too early…too early…"

"I'm calling an ambulance," I say, grabbing my phone.

"No," she clutches her stomach again, groaning in pain, "They'll take too long. Take me to the hospital, Alex…"

I'll admit it; I'm fucking scared at this point. It takes a lot to scare me, but the seriousness in her voice, the pain she is in…it makes me feel like I might lose her…or the baby…

I grab her car keys and help Brittany out of the house and into the car. She is breathing hard, sweating and grinding her teeth in pain.

I waste no time grabbing anything from inside; I don't want to take any chances. I speed all the way to the hospital and stop in front of the building, run around the car and help Brittany out. I grab her a wheelchair and push her inside to the main desk.

I'm not sure anything I said to the nurse made sense but they took her in right away. They wouldn't let me go in with her. I am told to calm down, move my car, and fill out a stack of paperwork. If they expect me to be calm after something like this, they're fucking insane.

I pace in the waiting room for two whole hours, during which time I try to keep my mind on anything other than thinking the worst. They haven't told me anything, so my mind is jumping to conclusions. I call work and tell them I'm not coming in. I call Sierra, but she is just as worried as I am. She tries to tell me to calm down and that pushes me over the edge,

"If one more person tells me to calm the fuck down, I swear to God, I will kill them."

I reluctantly allow myself to sit down; facing the door, waiting for the doctors to come out and tell me what the hell is going on. It takes them another forty-five more minutes, but a nurse by the name of 'Carole' finally comes out and says,

"Mr. Fuentes? You can see her now." Why the hell does she look so cheerful?

"How is she? Brittany, is she okay? And the baby…"

"Everything is fine, Mr. Fuentes. The doctor will explain everything further when she wakes up. You should have nothing to worry about."

She smiles and leads me into the room where they're keeping Britt. Seeing her in that hospital bed kills me, it really does. This is my fault. She's in here because of me.

I close the door behind me and cross the room to her bed, careful not to make noise. I don't want to wake her, but I think she's out cold for now. I pull up a chair and take her hand, just looking at her. Her hair is a little disheveled, and her face doesn't have its usual glow, but I can tell it's her. I'll always be able to tell.

"Britt, I'm so sorry…I know what you must think, about the perfume and the lipstick, but it's not what you think. I would never cheat on you. There was a girl at the bar Enrique and I went to; she was drunk and falling all over everyone—she reeked of perfume. That must have been where that came from…and the lipstick? I gave a customer a ride home from the garage, she couldn't find any other ride and I had Julio…she must have just leaned against my shirt wrong…"

This is crazy. I don't even know if she can hear me.

"I love you, Brittany. I would never dream of cheating on you. Please believe me. I would never hurt you that way…"

I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it, willing her to wake up, but my speech is proven to be worthless. I'll have to wait until she wakes up.

I sit there for hours, watching her sleep, reading a magazine, anything to keep me from going insane from the waiting. It is torture, pure torture to have to wait like this—unknowing, worried, guilty…

The television in the room proves to be no help either. I flip through the channels, but it's the middle of the day, all that's on are stupid soap operas. I leave it on a channel that seems remotely interesting and try to focus on the show. All I gather is that some girl, Alanna, hates Germany and wants to visit France. Alanna's neighbor, Michaela, is having man issues—meaning that she's slept with half of her coworker's husbands. Eleanor is going to school to become a beautician because she wants to be able to open her own business but she's failing most of her classes. Danielle is sleeping with Tiff's husband and well—cue me saying, 'What the hell am I watching?' I turn off the television.

I sigh and lean against her bed, still holding her hand, my eyelids drooping. I try to stay awake but my efforts are futile. I fall asleep on the edge of her bed, still sitting in my chair, and still holding her hand. I want her to know that I'm here, that I'm not leaving…

**More reviews? Please? I updated fassssssstttt. Please?**


	7. Chapter 7: Brittany

**Thanks for all the reviews guys, I'm excited that this story is doing so much better than my other one…although I think my bonding time with the characters helped me better get them. *Shrugs* I don't know. Read. Now.**

**Brittany**

_Beep…beep…beep…_

I can hear everything around me, but I don't open my eyes yet. I hear the monitor and its ever-present beeping, my own breathing and someone else's. I lift my eyelids slowly and let the room come into focus. I feel tired, weary, and a bit dizzy. There's a slight pressure on my hand that shifts slightly. I lick my lips and tilt my head, looking down at my sleeping husband.

I smile and watch him silently, not wanting to wake him. My hand grips his weakly and he stirs. He registers my movement after a second and opens his eyes, sitting up. He looks horrible. He must have been here this entire time.

He looks so worried…that scares me…

"Britt," he sighs, standing up to lean in and kiss my forehead, then my lips. "I'm so sorry about this…I should have—"

"Alex…" I say, in no more than a whisper, but he hears and grows quiet.

"I would never cheat on you," he states, his eyes sincere. He explains himself so fast I can hardly keep up. I swear I've never heard him talk that fast…in English.

I don't know what ever caused me to doubt the man in front of me now.

"Please believe me," he says, still holding my hand. I take a deep breath and I feel him tense a little—expecting the worst, I guess.

"I don't know how I ever doubted you…" I say. A smile graces his weary face and the baby kicks.

The baby!

My expression must have changed dramatically because I see Alex's confusion then he says,

"The baby's fine. The doctor will come in soon and talk to us about what happened."

I feel myself relax after the fourth syllable. Fine. The baby's fine. I sigh, relieved. Relief…

"Alex?" He nods and raises an eyebrow. "I have to pee." He laughs—a sound that I desperately need to hear. Then he stands up again and helps me to the bathroom. I love him so much for putting up with this. He's going to be a great father.

Once he got me back to bed safely he left to go find a nurse or doctor to tell them that I am awake. When he comes back he takes his seat beside me again and tells me that the doctor will be right in. I take his hand in mine again and take a deep breath, not sure what to expect.

"Don't let me go…" I whisper, and he kisses my hand. I knew he wouldn't.

The worry kicks in again—worsens as I hear a knock on the door. A tall redhead walks in, a calm smile on her aged face. I recognize her immediately as the doctor that I'd been seeing throughout my pregnancy. I had just seen her last week for a check-up.

"Just say it," I say, biting the inside of my lip—nerves.

"There was some bleeding, but we were able to take care of it and hopefully prevent it from happening again. You essentially went into labor. Your premature contractions were halted, but they did help us see the bleeding before it was too late. You'll be able to go home tomorrow morning, but Mrs. Fuentes, I warned you your last appointment that you needed to take it easy…"

The doctor turns to Alex, "Sometimes the stress of life in combination with the physical stress of pregnancy or for reasons unknown creates a situation where the pregnancy is threatening to end early. Bedrest is one of the tools used to help prevent preterm birth. We'll ask that she adheres to strict bedrest, meaning only getting out of bed to use the bathroom."

I bit my lip at the expression on Alex's face. He looks guilty again, as if this were his fault.

"We're also going to prescribe you some medication to prevent labor, infections, and some medication to help the progression of the lungs in the fetus," the doctor continues, looking back at me.

There's a giant lump in my throat that refuses to go away. It gets bigger at the worry on Alex's face.

"If either of you have any questions…" Dr. Rose starts, but when we both shake our heads she continues, "If you can think of any, let either Dr. Ann or myself know." She leaves, closing the door behind her.

The room grows silent. Neither Alex nor I knew what to say. I spoke up first,

"I should have told you…"

"I should have known. I should have been at that appointment with you. I should have—"

"Alex, this isn't your fault. We both knew that this was a possibility. The doctor just told me to take it easy, just in case, and I did…" I think back to our argument, "…for the most part."

Alex says nothing. He doesn't even look at me.

"Bedrest won't be so bad…" I smirk, trying to take his mind off whatever it is on. It works, slightly. He turns to me and sighs,

"Doc says take it easy."

"Then I guess we'll just have to…cuddle," I giggle a little and hear him chuckle lightly.

"It will give us time to talk some things over…and prepare a bit more," he offers, playing with my fingers absently.

"We still need a name…"

"Well, we really can't pick out a name until we know if it's a boy or girl," he replies.

"We'll pick some of both. How about Harvey?" He makes a face.

"Harvey? What kind of name is Harvey?"

"Fine. What about…Kelsey?" He looks thoughtful.

"Kelsey…not bad." I smile, looks like he likes that one.

"What about if it's a boy?"

"I have no idea. Alex Jr. has a nice ring to it," he smirks, and I giggle.

"No, no, that would be too confusing," We already have an Alex Jr. in the house…I bite my lip a little, trying not to laugh again.

I look at Alex again, he does look extremely tired.

"Baby, maybe you should go home and get some sleep," I say, giving his hand a small squeeze, "You look tired."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm not leaving."

"You're never going to get any sleep here, and I'll be fine." He looks down, knowing that I have a point, but still reluctant to leave. The worry lines on his face are back.

"I still don't want to leave you," he says, looking back at me and running his hand down my cheek and cupping it. This simple action has me reeling with love and admiration for him.

"Then at least get comfortable," I smile, carefully moving myself over on the bed and patting the spot next to me. Alex smiles and climbs into the bed next to me, holding me close. The bed isn't very big, but with us this close we barely notice. I take a deep breath and feel his hand on my stomach, rubbing it lightly. I close my eyes and I hear Alex hum softly, lulling me into a peaceful sleep that I know he'll soon follow.

How did I ever think that he was cheating on me? I want so badly to blame the pregnancy hormones but I don't think that would be fair. Sure, the hormones have my emotions on edge, but they're not about to turn me against my husband. I've known Alex for years and he's always been faithful to me, I have no idea what made me question him now.

I love him with everything I have.

And he loves me.

Sure, we fight…a lot, but we always get past it. No matter how many fights we have we always make up. The love is always there, which is why we always apologize and move on. We always hold onto our love. We'll never let go.

**This** **chapter is brought to you by 'Never say Never' by The Fray.**

**Sorry it was short.**

**Review anyway?**


	8. Chapter 8: Alex

**Anyone want to find out just how cute Alex can be? Keep reading! (Sorry I took so long to update—I'm working on something BIG with my partner in crime KelseyO)**

**Alex**

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" I ask in a sigh, refraining from sitting down because the second I do, she'll ask for something. She's torturing me.

"I'm sure; I'll be fine for a while. Come sit with me," she smiles, patting the spot next to her on the bed. I hesitantly sit beside her and let myself relax a little bit.

"What are you watching?" I ask, glancing at the TV that she had asked me to bring in from the other room.

"Wife Swap," she smirks, cuddling up close to me and making me lay down next to her.

"Let's not ever sign up for this show…" I mention at the end of the episode. Britt laughs softly and agrees. I don't think anyone else could put up with me—or Brittany for that matter. We're both too stubborn and proud to get along with anyone other than each other.

"Did you talk to your boss?" she asks, her hand running along my chest.

"Yeah, I got the rest of the week off. If I need more, I'll just call out."

"You know, I can just stay with my parents or something if you want to go in to the lab…"

"No, this is where I belong right now, and this is where I _want_ to be." Brittany smiles and kisses my lips.

"Knock-knock!" We hear from the front door and Sierra walks in carrying a whole bunch of shopping bags.

Where the hell are we going to put all this shit?

"Aww, don't we look cozy?" Sierra says, walking into the room and giving Britt something a half of a hug. She pulls up a chair and makes herself comfy as Britt sits up.

"Alex said he called you last night…"

"Yes, he did, and why the hell didn't you tell anyone that the doctor told you to take it easy?" Britt rolls her eyes,

"I didn't think it was a big deal, Sierra." Sierra eyes her carefully, a look that to women probably means 'to be discussed further later'. Ha, women.

"Anyways, you know how we talked about Doug the other day…" Sierra starts, then looks at me.

"Just pretend I'm not here," I say, looking at the television and flipping through the channels.

"Well, I talked to him…I told him everything, and he…"

"And he what?" Britt asks, hesitant.

"And he proposed!" Sierra practically screams, showing Britt the ring on her finger. I bite the inside of my lip at the size of the thing; it makes the one I got for Brittany seem like a fucking grain of sand.

"What? Oh my god!" Britt's face lit up, as did Sierra's. I look over and let out a short laugh. I'd known for a while that he was going to propose, although I'm pretty sure this wasn't the way he wanted it to go down.

"I know, right?" Sierra says, "He'll be here in a minute with all the rest of the stuff."

"Alex, can you get me some water?" Britt asks sweetly.

"Me too," Sierra says.

"Say please," I smirk. Britt gives me a kiss and smirks back,

"_Por favor…_"

I love when she speaks Spanish.

"Anything else?" I ask her, getting out of bed and heading towards the kitchen.

"Some pickles!" she calls out after me. I laugh to myself. Pickles: her number one craving throughout her entire pregnancy. I pour two glasses of water and grab the jar of pickles while the girls giggle to themselves in the bedroom. I head back into the room and hand them their waters, and Britt the jar of pickles. She immediately puts the water aside and takes the jar, attempting to open it but failing.

"Alex…?" she says, a little pout on her lips. She can make me do anything with that look, and she knows it.

I sigh, "Let me see it," she grins and passes me the jar. I pop it open and she giggles. She probably just wants to see me flex, it never gets old to her.

I hand it back to her and hear a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," I say, as if anyone else were jumping at the chance. I walk over to the door and open it, coming face-to-face with a giant box.

"Hey Fuentes," Doug says from somewhere behind the box.

"Come on in, man," I say, "Just put that over there, I'll find a place for it later."

"There's more in the truck," he says, walking past me inside.

"Alright," I say, heading out to the truck and blinking a few times at the amount of boxes and stuff there.

_Mierda…_our house is _not _big enough for all this stuff.

I grab a box and bring it inside—it weighs a ton—what the hell did they give her at the shower? Bricks for the baby to play with? _Dios mio…_

"Thanks for bringing this stuff over, Doug," I say as he comes back out to grab more stuff and pile it into my too small living room. "And I heard that you proposed, I'm so sorry," I joke.

He laughs, "Ha, thanks Alex."

"I thought you were planning on doing it next week at your lake house," I say, grabbing yet another box and bringing it inside.

"That was the plan, yes, until she verbally attacked me last night. She went off about me cheating on her, and well, it was the only thing I could think of to prove that I wasn't."

"What the hell is with our girls all of a sudden?" I ask, grabbing two chilled beers and sit down on the stoop. Doug sits beside me and I hand him a beer.

"What do you mean? You and Britt having problems too?"

"Not anymore, but she did the same thing the other day. She pretty much went off about everything, and that's when everything else happened."

"That sucks man," Doug says, taking a long swig from his bottle.

"Yeah, well, everything should get better in the next few weeks…" I say, half-believing myself. Once the baby comes things are going to get worse, and we all know it.

I guess we've all just kind of avoided talking about it.

"Alex?" Sierra says, popping up in the doorway and kissing Doug on the top of his head. "Brittany needs you."

"Duty calls," I smirk, heading inside and into the bedroom, where Britt had her legs over the side of the bed.

"What do know need _mujer,_" I ask, coming to her side.

"I really _really_ have to pee, and Sierra is too freaking weak to help me," she says quickly. I can't help but laugh at her urgency, but I help her into the bathroom and lean against the sink.

"You have to take more meds at dinner," I say, brushing her hair back away from her face.

"Yeah, I know…I hate medicine…"

"Trust me, I know," I laugh. I've had to hide them in her food before. She laughs softly and finishes up, then uses me as a wall as she washes up.

"Are Sierra and Doug still here?" she asks as I help her back to the bed.

"I don't think so, let me check," I say and peek out the door. Sierra and Doug are very cozy on our front stairs. "Yeah, they are Britt."

"Why don't you ask them to stay for dinner," she says, looking at me from down the hall. I shrug,

"Alright," I say and open the door, peeking my head out and asking. They both agree and Sierra offers Doug up to help me cook.

***

"What can I do to help?" Doug asks, trying to be helpful. I laugh,

"Can you even cook?" I ask.

"Uh, well…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Sit down," I say, grabbing some supplies and setting them on the counter. I hear the chair squeak against the floor as Doug sits and then he sighs. The girls were gossiping in the bedroom and well, Doug probably felt a little useless.

"Here, cut these up," I offer, setting a cutting board, knife and some tomatoes. He agrees and starts chopping away.

We've had to lay off the Mexican food for a while now, I'll be glad when I can get back to cooking some of that. But for now it's steak, corn, and fresh tomatoes.

I cook everything up and Sierra comes in to set the table while I go get Britt. It's a special occasion, having guests over, I'd hate to have Britt eating in the bedroom. I bring her out and sit her at the table, then serve everyone and smile.

"Enjoy."


	9. Chapter 9: Brittany

**Yeah, yeah, I know, I've been really bad with updates, but now that a whole bunch of crap is done with I'll be updating faster, no distractions. =)**

**Brittany**

"Alex, I never knew you could cook!" Sierra smiles, shoveling giant mouthfuls of her dinner into her mouth as if she couldn't eat it fast enough.

_Very classy, Sierra, you have barbecue sauce on your chin._

I tap my chin as Sierra looks my way and she blushes slightly, grabbing a napkin to wipe it off. It's funny how two people that have known each other for so long can speak without words. Alex and I do it too. I look over at Alex, who has long since finished his meal, along with Doug. Alex got me a second helping when I said I was still hungry—I can't help it, I'm eating for two!

"Who did you think did the cooking here? Britt?" he laughs and I elbow him lightly, making a face.

"I'm not _that_ bad at cooking," I defend and he raises an eyebrow at me. "Okay, fine, I'm not very good…" Alex smirks and leans over to kiss me,

"Just stay out of _la cocina_ and we won't have any…problems."

"Ugh, Alex! It was one time!" I say, leaning back in my chair and adjusting myself and the baby so we were both comfortable. Alex just smirks again and looks back at the confused Doug and Sierra,

"A story for later," he smiles, then blocks his mouth slightly with his hand, but so I can still see what he's mouthing—'When she falls asleep.' I pout, crossing my arms across my chest. Alex looks over and gives me an amused look, letting his eyes linger on my breasts. I roll my eyes and uncross my arms…men…

I will admit my boobs have gotten bigger because of the pregnancy, but everything has kind of gotten bigger because of the pregnancy…

I shift in my seat a little bit and feel weight pressing down on my bladder. Why must this kid use my bladder as a cushion? I scoot out from the table and go to stand up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sierra says, eyeing me as I'm trying to stand up—keyword: trying.

"This kid has me peeing at least three times an hour, where do you think I'm going?" I ask, finally getting to my feet. Alex stands and says,

"I'll help you." I know he's just trying to take care of me and the baby, but I _can _do things on my own—I was put on bedrest, not bed-arrest.

"I'll be fine, Alex, don't worry," I smile and back up a few steps. They should make one of those reverse beeping alarms for pregnant women. Alex hesitantly sits down, but watches me as I waddle to the bathroom just down the hall. I can feel his eyes on me until I close the door behind me.

I come out a few minutes later and sigh, taking my time going back to the table—no rush now, bladder's empty. I feel myself slowing down even more before I fully realize the blurriness of my vision. The hallway starts to spin…

"Britt?" Alex calls from the dining room. I don't answer—I try to focus and see straight. I prop myself against the wall with my hand for balance, but within seconds I feel the familiar muscles of my man's arms.

"Are you alright? Can you hear me?" he asks, touching my cheeks and forehead. I don't realize I have my eyes closed until I have to reopen them to face my worried husband.

"Just give me a second, I'm fine…just got a little dizzy, is all…" I say, closing my eyes for a few seconds more and then sighing slightly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asks, still holding me as if I'm about to fall.

"I'm probably just tired…I think I'll just go lay down," I say, turning towards the bedroom. His grip doesn't falter,

"Let me help you," he said, not a question…more of a demand. He isn't going to let me do anything by myself now…stupid dizzy spell.

This baby needs to arrive already.

Alex leads me to the bed and sits me down on the edge—I can see Sierra in the doorway. I smile at her reassuringly and she comes in, sitting beside me for a second before announcing that she has to get going because she has work in the morning, and that Doug had done the dishes because he didn't help cook. I give her a quick awkward hug and she and Doug take their leave.

I sigh once they're gone and Alex brings me over one of his T-shirts, and then proceeds to help me change. Normally I'd object but exhaustion is kicking in and this belly is a hard thing to get around. He fixes the sheets next, and grabs my meds,

"Alex, you can calm down…I'm fine, the baby's fine…" He looks up from my medication bottles and hands me two from one bottle, and one each from three other bottles—if they weren't prescribed solely for the baby's health I wouldn't be taking them I hate swallowing pills.

"I'll get you a glass of water," he says, slipping out of the room. I look at the different pills in my hand and rub my stomach. It's still hard to believe that I'm going to bring a living being into this world in a matter of weeks. I hope they look like their dad. I smile at the thought and picture a little girl with long, thick black hair.

"Here you go, need anything else?" he asks, pulling back my sheets as I swallow the horse-sized pills. I shake my head and finish off the glass of water. Alex takes the empty glass and sets it on the bedside table, then helps me lay down.

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning," I mention, easing down onto the pillows, holding my stomach.

"Yeah, I know, eight o'clock," he smirks. He's good. I smile and pat the spot next to me,

"Come to bed," I say and he smiles,

"Just let me change first." Dinner and a show, what a night. I bite the inside of my lip to keep from giggling and I watch him change.

"See something you like _mujer?"_ he smirks, catching my watching.

"Quite a few things, actually…but then again, I always have been strangely attracted to _Mexicanos._"

He let out a small chuckle and crawled into bed, just wearing a pair of black boxers. I turn on my side slightly and he slides up next to me, putting his arm around me so I'm right in the crook of his arm. I smile and close my eyes, holding him close.

"Alex?"

"Mmm?"

"What if I can't do this?" I ask, doubt creeping out of nowhere all of a sudden.

"Can't do what?"

"Be a mother…" A mixture of joy and worry has been plaguing this entire pregnancy, not surfacing until that question just now.

"Britt, you know you'll be a great mother, and you're not alone in this either…I'm not going anywhere, and neither are Sierra, Doug, or your parents…"

"I'm just…nervous," I reply, fidgeting with my fingers, curling and uncurling the blanket's folds.

"We both are," he says, kissing my hair, "But, we'll get each other through this."

"Alex?"

"_¿Ah sí?_" My God, I love it when he speaks Spanish—always have, always will.

"I love you," I whisper.

"Love you back," he says softly, scooting closer and putting his hands on my belly.

I take a deep breath and lean back against him as he runs his hands over my rounded stomach. I listen to his even breathing and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. He starts to hum softly to me and I drift slowly to sleep with the two people I love most in this world: My husband and our baby.

**I owe you guys another update by like…tomorrow, lol, so check back soon! 3**


	10. Chapter 10: Alex

**Alex**

"Alejandro Fuentes, get your sweet ass out of bed, right now—we're going to be late."

I open my eyes slowly and sit up a tiny bit, glancing over at the clock.

_Mierda._ She's right, we're going to be late.

"Let's go, boy, get outta bed!" she says, walking past the bed and giving my ass a smack.

"I'm up, I'm up…" I say, yawning as I roll out of bed and stretch.

"I can see that," Britt smirks, eyeing me. She has that glow again today, which makes me smile.

"Are you just going to stand there half-naked, or do you need me to dress you?" she asks, her hand on her hip.

I smirk, "Well, if that's an offer—" she cuts me off,

"We don't have time, Alex, come on, let's go," she urges. I roll my eyes and grab some jeans from the drawer. I slip into them and search for a shirt, glancing back at Britt who is just standing in the doorway eyeing me.

"I like those pants on you…" she smirks. I smirk back and pull a shirt over my head, sauntering over to her and kissing her good morning.

"Oh? And why is that?" I ask.

"They're tight…" she grins, and I kiss her lovingly.

"We should go," I say, leaning my forehead against hers after the kiss.

"Yeah…" she replies, her hands in my back pockets. The baby is between us, kickboxing against my abs. It makes us both smile, wanting to cherish this moment. The baby stops kicking then, and we both break free of our trance and head out to the car.

It takes us about fifteen minutes to get to the hospital—more if you count the fact that Britt gets hungry and we stop at Dunkins, but we finally get there (Only about five or ten minutes late).

"Mrs. Fuentes?" the nurse asks from behind the desk, and then smiles warmly.

"Sorry I'm late," Brittany says, a hand on her stomach as she wobbles up to the desk. I stay a step behind her, but rest my arm along the small of her back by her hips.

"Oh, it's not a problem, Mrs. Fuentes. The doctor is running a little bit behind schedule this morning, so you may be right on time. Let me go check to see if she's ready to see you, please, have a seat." The nurse smiles and disappears behind a door for a few minutes, while I get Britt situated in a chair.

"Did you know that sex can lead to naturally induced labor?" Britt asks softly, flipping through a magazine. I look over at her and raise an eyebrow. Without looking at me she shrugs, "Just saying."

The nurse returns about ten minutes later—after Britt and I had watched almost an entire episode of a show called 'Phineas and Firb'. It is a show for like five year olds, but I have to admit it made me laugh more than once. Why the hell did they have turtles on their head? I suppose I should get used to watching these types of shows.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes, you can come in now," she says sweetly, opening a door for us. "Do you need a wheelchair?"

"No," Britt answers automatically, "No thank you," she adds politely. That's my girl—strong-willed and tough.

"Okay, right through here then. Follow me, please." She leads us into a decent sized room with one of those chairs that do not look comfortable with your legs positioned like that, and she and I help Britt up into the chair.

"You're just here for a check-up and an ultrasound, am I right?" the nurse asks, opening a chart and flipping through the many pages.

"Yes," Britt answers, smiling. She's so excited about this baby it's hard for me not to be. I do want this baby, but it's still our first child and the whole new parent thing…

"Alright, then let's get started. I'll be performing the ultrasound, so just let me prep you and the doctor should be in shortly."

Britt sits back in the chair and helps the nurse roll up her shirt. Some sort of goo is squirted on Britt's stomach and then the nurse gets the machine going.

"You requested to not know the sex of the baby, correct?" the nurse asks, touching this upside-down microphone looking thing to the gel and rubbing it in circles as she stares at the screen. A picture comes up almost immediately. I smile, seeing what I think is a hand—with five tiny fingers…on second thought, maybe it's a foot.

"We want it to be a surprise," Britt answers, holding my hand as we watch the screen. The nurse points out certain parts of the baby—its arm, its foot, its head and neck…

It is amazing. I can't believe I didn't make it to any of these before now. I'd been working so much over the last few months that I haven't had time off to take her to these appointments. I can't believe I missed so much…

But these medical bills needed to get paid.

"Wow..." I breathe out, squeezing Britt's hand lightly. She squeezes back,

"It's incredible, isn't it? That's our baby…" she smiles. The nurse lingers on a side view of the baby's face. Britt is thirty-eight weeks now, the baby will be making its appearance really soon.

"Our baby…" I say, smiling as I look at the small child on the screen—the same child that had kicked my stomach earlier. I lean back in my chair and Britt looks over at me.

"Knock-knock," Dr. Rose says as she opens the door and closes it behind her. "How are you doing, Mrs. Fuentes?"

"I'm doing well…getting excited," Britt smiles.

"You've been adhering to my request of bedrest, right?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, she has. I made sure of it," I say.

"Alright, have you experienced any dizziness, nausea, anything out of the ordinary?" Britt glances over at me, knowing that if she didn't say something I would.

"I got a little dizzy yesterday, but it was just a little light-headedness…I figured it was just exhaustion…" Britt explains.

"We'll run some tests just to be sure," the doctor replies, taking the nurses seat at the machine and applying more goo to Britt's stomach.

"Looking good…" Dr. Rose muses, sliding the odd contraption across the arch of Britt's belly. "Oh, wow, would you look at that." She points to the screen, tracing the hand that we assumed was in the baby's mouth to a leg and hip bone. The baby had their foot in their mouth.

We all have a quick laugh and then the doctor stands. "Everything looks fine, Mrs. Fuentes. We'll run those tests and call you if anything comes up. If not, I'll see you next week."

I help Britt up out of the chair and she mutters a quiet 'thanks' as I help her regain her balance. The baby kind of makes her top heavy. I have to hand it to women, though; I do not think I could do that for nine months.

Britt makes sure that her next appointment is all in order before we leave, and then she has a whole bunch of errands she wants to run. And by 'she wants to run' I really mean, she wants me to run while she waits in the car. I do what she wants, but I have to admit…her little sex comment from earlier is still on my mind.

She'd never go for it, even though she was the one to bring it up. She wouldn't risk the baby getting hurt…but a man can hope…

**Reviews? **

**I didn't bore you with stupid author notes this time…**


	11. Chapter 11: Brittany

**Brittany**

I sit up quick, sucking in a deep breath from between my gritted teeth. I try to take deep breaths as pains shoot down my stomach, but it doesn't work. None of my other contractions were like this one.

The pain resides after a minute or two, but its effect still shows. I can feel the perspiration on my face and chest, and my hands are shaking slightly as they rub my stomach.

"I'm okay, baby, you're okay…it's not time yet…not yet…" I whisper, rubbing my stomach and closing my eyes. I start to hum softly to the baby, careful not to wake Alex, who's sleeping soundly at my side.

Glancing over at the alarm clock I see it's only 4:03 a.m.

_Great. I'll never get back to sleep…_

I sigh to myself and stare up at the ceiling, then my stomach growls. I peek over at Alex, but not wanting to wake him to ask him to get me something, I decide to get up. The kitchen is just down the hall, it won't kill me. Plus, my feet are so swollen right now; they could use a good use.

I sit up and my stomach growls again.

_I know, I know, I'm going._

I grunt slightly as I push myself up onto my feet and put a hand on my stomach. I let out a breath and waddle towards the kitchen for something to eat.

I feel it coming even before I reach the kitchen. The fridge is the closest thing to me that will hold my weight, and I lean against it. I bite my lip and whimper a little bit, barely noticing the blood dripping from my lip.

Something's not right.

"Oww, oww," I groan, holding my stomach, tears form in my eyes. "Alex?" Tears fall down my cheeks and my knees grow weak. "Alex!"

A moment later a sleepy, but strangely alert Alex walks into the kitchen.

"Britt? _¿Qué pasa?_" He rushes to me and helps me to a chair.

"Something's wrong, Alex…I can feel it," I say, my voice thick with tears and worry. I can't lose this baby.

"I'm going to grab some clothes and I'm taking you to the hospital," he says back without pause. He's worried too, which doesn't help with my nerves. "Deep breaths, Britt, just stay calm." He smiles slightly, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

He heads off to the bedroom to find clothes and I try to do as he told me. I breathe in and out slowly. The pain is gone for the moment, but I know it will be back.

"Can you walk?" Alex asks, coming back into the kitchen and grabbing the keys off the counter. I nod to him,

"Yeah, I think so," I reply. He steps in front of me and helps me up out of the chair.

"Let's get you to th—" he stops dead, mid-sentence and we both look down. "What the…"

"Alex…my water just broke," I say, fear clear in my voice. "No, it's too soon. It's not time yet, I still have two weeks!"

"_Mujer,_ calm down," he sooths, making me look into his eyes. "We're leaving now; let's get you in the car and to the hospital."

I can't do anything other than nod at that point. I'm starting to feel a little dizzy again. Alex puts his arms around me and aids me out into the car. I try to fit the seatbelt around me but another contraction hits and he takes it from me and clicks it in before running over to the driver's side and peeling out onto the road.

"Deep breaths, Britt," he says as he drives down the empty road, blowing through any and all stop lights. I close my eyes and listen to his soothing words. I breathe in and out again, and then feel the tightening in my lower abdomen. My eyes shoot open and I groan as the pressure increases until I can barely stand it.

"Hold on, I'm driving as fast as I can," Alex says, literally flooring it. I don't care,

"Driver faster," I hiss through my clenched teeth. This baby is coming now. Whether it's time or not, this baby's coming right now.

"We're lucky we live so close to the hospital, otherwise I might have ripped Alex's head off before we got there…but nevertheless he got me there and into a wheelchair in less than ten minutes. He wheels me in and the nightshift nurses seem to already know what's happening before Alex tells them.

I feel dizzy again. I blink a few times and I can hear Alex's voice. Then everything goes black.

**Sorry, it's short, it's a cliffhanger, all the things you guys hate. BUT the next one will be long and kind of recap what happened a bit. =D Review please.**


	12. Chapter 12: Alex

**As promised, a longer chapter for you guys. See you at the bottom!**

_**Alex**_

The nurses are moving far too slowly for my liking, but whenever I try to hurry them up they threaten to kick me out. They can't fucking do that, can they?

I have to stand idly to the side as Britt is hooked up to machines and given medication. She is oblivious to all of this in her unconscious state, but I'm pretty sure that I'm freaking out enough for the both of us.

What's wrong with her? Is the baby hurt? Why is no one telling me anything?

The nurses and doctors shove past me in attempts to get to Brittany, and I'd move…but I can't. My feet won't let me move, and my eyes won't let me look away from the hustle of movement around my wife and unborn child.

All I can do is stand here and wait. I hate waiting.

"Mr. Fuentes?" a doctor asks, coming over to me and peeling off his gloves as the nurse's finish up what they're doing. "I'm Dr. McCarthy. Can I speak with you outside for a moment?"

I nod and follow him out, looking back at Britt before crossing the threshold.

"Mr. Fuentes, I'm going to be completely honest with you. This is the second time complications with the pregnancy have arisen, and I doubt that this time will be the last. Her water has broken, but we've given her some medications to slow the contractions until she's awake. As her husband, you are her and the baby's healthcare proxy…if anything should go wrong; decisions will be up to you."

"What do you mean 'if anything should go wrong'?" I ask, and the doctor looks away.

"The baby is premature, and more often than not there are complications with both the birthing process and the development of the baby. We'll know more as it happens."

"So now what?" I ask, looking in at Brittany through the blinds of the room.

"We wait until she wakes up, and then decide what's best for the baby."

"We wait…" I sigh.

"She should be waking up soon; the medication for the contractions is only temporary." I nod again and the doctor offers a small smile and puts his hand on my shoulder,

"This same thing happened to my first wife…just go sit with her, that's all you can do right now."

His first wife…doesn't that mean he has a second now? What happened to the first one? My heart clenches and I head back into the room and pull up a chair next to Brittany's bed. I take her hand and kiss her palm gently. I don't know what I'll do if I lose her…

I'll go insane…I really will. I'm already losing it watching her in this state. She looks peaceful for a time and then in her slumber I can see her entire body clench and she shakes slightly, releasing a whimper of sorts as she places her hand on her stomach. I put my hand other hand on her stomach and rub her rounded baby bump.

I feel helpless. I can't do anything for her right now. For years I've risked everything for her, to protect her…but now all I can do is wait…and it's killing me.

Nurses come and go, trying to make pleasant conversation and asking if I need anything but I just shake my head. I don't need anything other than Brittany and the baby being okay.

"Alex?" I hear softly, so softly I think I'm hearing things. I look over at Brittany and her eyes are closed but her lips are parted slightly.

"I'm right here," I assure, even though I'm not sure if she said anything to begin with.

"Is the baby okay?" she asks, her voice is faint, almost a whisper. I lean closer,

"The doctor said that the baby is coming now," I say back, brushing away a strand of her blond hair from her face. She opens her eyes slowly,

"…but it's not time yet," she says, looking into my eyes. The ice blue that's normally there isn't, it's been replaced by a dull bluish-gray. She's so weak and frail. Her body is giving everything it has to the baby and not keeping anything for itself, much like Brittany would do…given the choice.

"The baby's not giving us much choice here, Britt," I reply, soothing her. I don't want her to get too worked up; it's not good for her or the baby.

"They can do something…the doctors…they'll…"

"Shh, shh," I say, putting my index finger to her lips. "They've done all they can to prevent this from happening. We have to trust their decision, _mi amore_."

She groans and holds her stomach, arching her back slightly as she squeezes both her eyes shut and my hand at the same time. I let her squeeze the hell out of my hand, it's the only thing I can really do for her.

A few nurses come in and check her charts and monitors. They tell us that the doctor will be right in.

"Alex, I can't do this…" Britt says, tears forming at the edges of her eyes from the pain and probably the emotional overload of all of this happening now.

"Don't say that. You're the strongest person I know…so much stronger than even you know. I would never be able to do all of this." She lets out a short laugh—my guess is that she pictured me with her stomach. It is quite an image…

"I love you," she whispers after a moment. I smile,

"Right back at ya, snow girl," I smirk, using the nickname I'd given her years ago. It seems childish now, which is partially why I said it…I want to keep her spirits up. She smiles and I listen to her steady breathing until the doctor comes in. He re-introduces himself for Brittany and then looks at her chart.

"Alright, Mrs. Fuentes, I see that your contractions are getting closer and closer together again…which means that the medication we gave you is wearing off. We can't prevent this baby forever. Are you ready to have this baby?"

She nods, hesitant.

"Well then, judging by your chart and the complications you've had already…I'm going to suggest a cesarean section."

Brittany stiffens slightly, squeezing my hand. A give her a small squeeze in return, to let her know that it's okay. The doctor turns to me and explains,

"A cesarean section, or c-section, is the delivery of a baby through a surgical incision in the abdomen and uterus. In certain circumstances, a c-section is scheduled in advance, but in others, it's done in response to an unforeseen complication such as we've had." The doctor pulls up another chair and sits down. "A c-section is major abdominal surgery, so it is riskier than a vaginal delivery. Women who have c-sections are more likely to have an infection, excessive bleeding, blood clots, more postpartum pain, a longer hospital stay, and a significantly longer recovery. Injuries to the bladder or bowel, although very rare, are also more common."

I swallow hard, through the giant lump in my throat, but I don't show that I'm worried because that will set Brittany over the edge. I have to stay strong for her.

"We'll just need your consent, Mrs. Fuentes, to proceed." Brittany sits up a little in her bed and looks at me, then the doctor.

"This is better for the baby?" The doctor nods.

"Then you have my consent."

*****

"Alright Mrs. Fuentes, you're all prepped for surgery," a young nurse says as cheerfully as possible.

I don't want to be reminded that any moment a team of nurses is going to come and take us both into a sterile room where she'll be cut open and…

"Are you sure you don't want to use the general anesthesia?" I ask, for the millionth time.

"Alex, I told you, I don't want to be unconscious for this…it's a risk for both me and the baby."

Really? Because to me it still sounds like you're going to be wide awake as they slice a hole in your stomach and pull the baby out…

I've been given a surgical cloak of sorts, gloves, mask, and some sort of hairnet bandana that all the doctors and nurses are wearing. I'm going in with her for the surgery—she doesn't want it any other way. Neither do I, really. I'd rather be in there and sure that she's okay than out in the waiting room pulling my hair out with worry.

"_Relájese_, Alex," she smiles, "Kiss me." I would never deny her that. Kissing her never gets old. I kiss her sweetly and smile.

"I'm as relaxed as I'm going to get," I reply, kissing her again. Why does it feel like this is a goodbye kiss? It's not, and I refuse to believe it.

"I'll be fine, the baby will be fine, and we'll all be home in no time," Brittany says, offering a small smile. She's so strong, and I'll always love that about her. She's stronger than I am by more than I'll ever be able to say.

"I know you're right," I smile, "I'm just being a 'worry-wart' as Sierra so nicely put it." Britt laughs and then takes in a sharp breath.

Time to go.

As if on cue the nurses come in and start to move Britt. They wheel her out of the room and out into the hall towards the operating room. I follow along at their side, holding Britt's hand. I'm not letting her go. No matter what. I'm not leaving her side.

"Alex..?"

"Yes?"

"If it comes down to me or the baby…"

"Don't think like that, Brittany."

"If it comes down to it though—"

"I'm not choosing the baby over you, Brittany, and don't even think of telling me to do so."

"Alex…"

"I'll choose you. If we lose the baby we can try again…if I lose you…" my voice trails off. I'd lose my mind. If I lost her…there'd be no hope for me…and I wouldn't be able to raise the baby on my own…especially knowing that it had lived in her place. No, I'll choose her every time.

*****

"Are you ready, Mrs. Fuentes?" a nurse asks, her voice muffled slightly because of her mask. Britt nods and I give her hand a small squeeze. My back is to her little curtain, so I can't see what's going on. I'm not squeamish at all, but seeing someone cut into her stomach might push me over the edge.

"_We're_ ready," she replies, entwining her fingers with mine. The place something under her right hip and her body tilts with it. The surgeons are all behind me and I can hear them shuffling around, but I keep my eyes locked with Brittany's. I can see the worry in her eyes now.

"Is Allis home?" one of the surgeons asks. What the hell does that mean? The anesthesiologist replies,

"Yes, Allis is home." Who the fuck is Allis?

Brittany closes her eyes and waits for the pain, but it doesn't come. I need to try to distract us both from what's going on behind my back.

"We still don't have a name," I smile, touching her cheek. She smiles back, but keeps her eyes closed.

"We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet."

"So?" I smirk.

"It's kind of important information to have when naming someone…unless you want a son named Lauren." I laugh softly,

"Or a girl named, John."

"See what I mean?" she smiles, taking a deep breath. She makes a face,

"What is it?" I ask.

"I feel pulling…a tugging of sorts, is that normal?" she asks and a nurse nearby answers,

"Yes, that's completely normal." Britt nods, reassured, and relaxes again.

"Alex…"

_"__¿Sí?_"

"Will you sing to me? I know it's a lot to ask but it's always made me feel at ease and—"

"Of course, I will." She smiles and I softly sing to her. I pick her favorite song at the moment, 'If it kills me' by Jason Mraz. She does look more relaxed as I'm singing to her.

There's another bustle of movement behind me and I hear footsteps on the other side of the room. I still don't turn. Brittany seems to know what's going on. I assume the baby is out. After a minute I hear a soft cry and I smile.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes, it's a baby boy."

A boy! It's a freaking boy!

"Britt, did you hear that? A boy," I grin, but then my smile fades. Britt's face lost color, and her head is lolled off to the side. "Britt?"

Beside me her heart monitor went off, sounding an alarm for everyone there.

"Brittany…" I say, touching her face.

"Mr. Fuentes, I need you to step aside," a nurse said urgently. I reluctantly let go of her hand and stepped back a few steps.

"What the hell is going on? What's happening to her?" I yell out over all the noise. A nurse leaves Britt's side and comes over to me,

"We're going to need you to leave," she says.

"I'm not going anywhere," I say to her, "Not until I know what's happening to my wife."

"She's losing a lot of blood, and her heart rate is dropping rapidly. Each second you're in here talking with me is a second I could be helping your wife. Now go."

Her words hit hard. I nod and back slowly out of the room. I'll do whatever I can to make her safe again. I need her to be okay. I need her to live. For the first time in a long time…I pray.

**Long chapter, wasn't it? Full of drama. I love drama. Did you like the drama? Review and tell me!**


	13. Chapter 13: Brittany

**Brittany**

_"Alex, honey, can you grab that bottle off the counter?" I say sweetly, bouncing a baby with one shoulder and stirring some pasta with the other. I turn when Alex doesn't answer; the bottle is still on the counter._

_"Alex?" I don't see him. Where is he? I turn the pot down to 'simmer' on the stove and carry the baby in my arms towards the living room._

_I see him lounging on the couch, a beer in his hand as he watches the game. There's a gun on the table. My eyes widen at the sight of it, and then my surprise fades and turns quickly to anger. What if the baby had gotten a hold of that?_

_Alex turns to me and stands up to finish off his beer. He sets the empty bottle down on the table and picks up the gun, tucking it into his waistband. I glare at him and open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts,_

_"I'm going out, probably won't be back tonight…but you'll be safe," he flashes me a cocky smirk and pulls out a red bandana—tying it around his forehead as he slams the door behind him._

_I'm shaking…_

_The baby starts to cry._

*****

"Mrs. Fuentes? Mrs. Fuentes, can you hear me?" someone is yelling. I open my eyes and I can feel my heart racing, my breath coming in quick gasps.

"Alex…Alex," I mumble, barely audible to even myself.

"He's stepped out for the moment, miss, he should be right back," a young nurse said, trying to calm me down. Then I realize that I can actually see the nurse. The baby!

"M-my baby…where's he?" I breathe, looking around the room. The nurse presses the nurse call button on my bed and gives me a soft smile,

"Your baby is fine, Mrs. Fuentes, but you need to calm down for your own health."

I take a deep breath. I need Alex. Where is he? Did he leave?

"My husband…"

"I'll go see if I can find him, just try to relax in the meantime." I nod, but I know I won't be able to relax until I hear it from Alex. I need to see him, I need him to tell me that things are fine…then I'll relax.

My monitor is beeping erratically and I touch a hand to my stomach and brush my fingers against the tender skin. What happened to me? The last thing I remember is Alex singing to me…after that is blank.

Alex runs into the room a moment later and rushes to my side, laying his hand against my cheek. His warm hand provides me with some comfort, but I need more. I need answers.

"Alex, what happened? What went wrong? The baby…is the baby…"

"Shh, shh, _mujer_, the baby is fine…there were just some complications during the surgery. You're fine now, the baby's fine. Just relax and listen, okay?"

I can hear how much he cares, truly cares, about me in his words. He loves me just as much as he did the day we married each other. I smile slightly, but I only relax a little bit more.

"Relax…" he says again, leaning down and kissing my lips softly. I lift up my hand—surprised by just how weak I feel—and hold his hand to my cheek. He smiles.

"I had a dream just now…" I say, my voice just above a whisper, but he hears.

"What was it about?" he asks, running his thumb along my cheekbone and pulling a chair over with his foot.

"You were in Blood again…" I say, hearing the tears in my voice before I felt them escape my eyes. "You said that we'd be safe…and you had a gun…"

"Brittany, you know that will never happen," Alex cut in, his tone serious. My eyes meet his and I nod,

"I know…"

"Listen to me," he says, taking a seat at my side and turning my head to face him, "Our family will always be safe; because I'll always be here to protect you and our son…I'm never going back to Blood."

Out of everything he said, I only really heard one thing.

"We have a son..?" His smile comes back and he nods,

"Yeah, we do."

"Can I see him?" I ask, fresh tears adding to the old ones. Alex smiles and says,

"I'm going to go tell the doctor that you're awake and see what he says,

"…Okay." Reluctantly, he removes his hand from my cheek and leaves the room. I close my eyes as he does, smiling. We have a baby boy. We have a baby…

"Britt, we're back," I hear. Alex. I nod, kind of drowsy and feel Alex take my hand. I open my eyes. A different doctor is in front of me—a tall redheaded woman, definitely Irish. She introduces herself as Dr. O'Connor. Oh yeah, definitely Irish.

"What's the damage?" I ask, and the doctor chuckles,

"It's good to see you still have your sense of humor after everything you've gone through, Mrs. Fuentes."

"To tell you the truth, I don't remember most of it," I reply. The doctor nods and writes something down on the clipboard she's holding.

"Well, basically…once the baby was out you started bleeding again. The baby was essentially stopping the bleeding, so we didn't see the bleed until the baby was out. The bleeding took some time to stop, so you lost a good amount of blood, but once everything had been stopped, the rest of the surgery went fine."

"The baby?"

"He's just fine, Mrs. Fuentes—Perfectly healthy aside from being a little bit premature."

"Can I see him?"

"In a moment, I just want to tell you what to expect for side effects to your surgery." I nod and she continues, "Well, with C-Sections in general, there are risks of patients developing blood clots, but an easy way to avoid those is just to keep moving and down stay too stationary for too long. Another risk is infection, which again can be avoided by taking antibiotics and keeping your wounds clean. You're going to be sore for a few weeks, at most, and I'm going to advise you not to pick up anything that weighs more than your baby."

That's a lot to take in. I nod again.

"I'll bring in your baby, now." The doctor left and I turn to Alex,

"So I can't lift anything more than what…eight pounds?" He smiles,

"Good thing you have a strong man around the house."

"That strong man is going to have to go back to work soon," I say, "Or we're going to have to move in with my parents."

He grimaces, and nods. "We're working on something big, Britt, I'll have to show you the research notes."

I smile, "I'd like that." I haven't been to work in a month or two now because I've been on maternity leave, but Alex and I both work in the lab together.

"I can bring them back when I run home this afternoon."

"You're leaving?" I ask, my heart skipping a beat slightly.

"Only for a little while. I just need to shower and get a change of clothes, and…"

"Some sleep," I smile. I can tell he hasn't slept since I woke him last night from bed. He nods, knowing that he needs it.

"How long do I have to stay here?" I ask Alex. He shrugs,

"I think the doctors said three days to a week." I sigh.

"He's awake," the doctor says cheerfully, wheeling in a cart looking contraption with a mini crib on top. I can't see him. The doctor helps me sit up and I can feel pressure in my stomach, then she walks over to the crib.

"Come here, come on," I hear the doctor coo as she picks up a small baby and lifts him so I can see. My eyes start to water again.

"Alex…" I say, unbelieving still that we have a child together. A baby boy! Alex squeezes my hand and then lets go so I can hold the baby. The doctor walks the baby over and places the small bundle in my arms.

"Mind his head," the doctor reminds me and then steps back. I hold back an emotional sob and look down at my baby, our baby. "I'll leave you two alone," the doctor smiles and heads out of the room.

"A baby boy…" I whisper, running my finger along the baby's small cheek. He stirs, slightly. His eyes are squeezed shut, which is to be expected, and he's so small. I can already see hair on his head—it's going to be like Alex's. I look over at Alex and smile, "He looks like you."

"He needs a name," Alex replies.

"I already have a name for him…"

"Oh?" Alex questions, raising an eyebrow, "Tell me."

"Well…I've had this name in mind for a while now…a long while…" Alex continues to listen. "I think you'll like it,"

Alex shifts a little, then looks down at the baby.

"His name is Paco," I say, and Alex looks up at me again, shock in his eyes. I smile, "What do you think?"

"I think that I'm madly in love with you," he says, standing up and kissing me full on with so much passion it made me dizzy. When he finally pulls away I can see a tear on his cheek. "I love you so much…"

"I love you too, Alex." He kisses me again and leans his forehead against mine as we both look down at the baby. Paco.

"Paco Fuentes…" Alex whispers, and I touch Paco's lips. He makes a small grunting noise and we both smile.

"Paco Fuentes," I repeat. Alex looks at me, so much admiration and love in his eyes. Paco had been his good friend back in high school, and had died protecting him. He had been a friend to us both, and protected us.

**Review please, give me more than 'update soon' please!**


	14. Chapter 14: Alex

**Alex**

"It's alright, Paco, Daddy's here," I say, leaning over the crib and picking him up. I lay him across my arm and bounce him slightly as I head out of the room. I don't want the baby to wake Britt up, she needs her sleep.

We've been home for three days now, and we both haven't gotten much rest. Paco doesn't like us to sleep…especially if he's not.

I head into the kitchen, closing the door to the bedroom behind me to muffle the sound, and I grab a bottle out of the cabinet. The formula is easy enough to make, just a few scoops of the stuff and some water, and then you heat it up. I do just that, but apparently too slow for Paco's liking. He cries louder.

I get the bottle ready and bring it to Paco's small lips. He stops crying and drinks. Finally.

"That's it, _bebé_, drink up," I say, sitting down with him. I look up at the clock on the stove and sigh.

_Mierda_… 4:03 a.m.

What sucks is that I have to get up for work in about two hours.

I sit in silence for a few minutes while Paco makes his little slurping noises with the bottle.

"You have my hair already, little guy. Good luck with that," I smile, setting the bottle aside when he is done. I drape one of my old bandanas over my shoulder and then bring Paco up to burp him. I've been well-trained by having two younger brothers to care for growing up.

Once Paco is fed and burped I settle him back into my arms and rock him gently, singing him softly back to sleep.

"Alex?" Britt says softly, pausing in the doorway to the kitchen. I look over at her and hold my index finger to my lips then look down at the baby in my arms.

"He just fell asleep…" I say with a yawn.

"You have to go to work in a few hours, why didn't you wake me up?" she asks, sitting down slowly, a careful hand upon her still-healing stomach. She looks between us with a tired smile.

"You need your rest too, Britt," I say, still rocking Paco gently. I hear a content sigh from the little bundle and smile.

"You're so good with him," she says, running her fingertips over his small head. "I told you that you had nothing to worry about." I smile at her compliment and she stands back up to kiss my cheek. "Come on, we'll take him to bed with us."

I nod and follow Britt back into the bedroom. Not even ten minutes later Britt is asleep and the baby is lying between us. I can't fall back asleep…which again, sucks because I'm going to be exhausted all day at work.

I look at the two sleeping beside me and smile. These two are my entire life, and I'll do everything possible to protect and provide for them both.

My alarm goes off _way_ too soon—just as I start to fall asleep, which makes it even worse. Figures. I roll onto my side and turn it off before it wakes the baby or Brittany, then force myself out of bed.

Today is _not_ going to be a good day.

*****

Have I mentioned yet that today sucks?

It's pouring rain outside and I can't for the life of me find Britt's car keys. I checked the car, her purse, the table, her dresser. Nowhere to be found. And waking Brittany would probably wake Paco, and I can't do that to her, not when she's going to have to get up when he does anyway—they both need their rest.

I grab the keys to Julio and frown slightly, I hate taking the bike out in the rain. I fit on my leather jacket and pack a change of clothes in my bag. With that, I head out into the rain.

_Carajo mi vida._

*****

"Alex, you look like shit," I hear the second I walk into the lab.

"Thanks Mike, I appreciate it," I say sarcastically, not really in the mood to joke around with him.

I walk past him into the locker room and put my stuff down on the bench in front of my locker. I need to get out of these wet clothes. I peel off my soaked shirt and drape it over the bench,

"Baby keep you up again?"

"You really don't get the whole 'Men's Locker Room' thing, do you?" I ask, recognizing that voice before I turn to look at her.

Cira, my intern, smirks and sets a coffee down in front of me.

"Thank you," I smile, picking it up and sipping from it. So good. I need caffeine this morning.

"Nope, how's the baby?"

"Doesn't like his parents to sleep, eats, sleeps, poops, the usual," I say, opening my locker and pulling out my lab coat. I can feel her eyeing me. This is probably the reason why they make two separate locker rooms…

"How's the wife?"

"You know you could always ask me these things once I'm actually changed and in there," I point out, undoing the button of my jeans and pulling them down. I really could care less if she sees me in my boxers—at this point she's already successfully snuck into the boy's locker room, what am I going to do? Ask her to leave? Make her turn around? No, I don't care. "She's fine, by the way."

"That's good," she smiles and picks up my wet clothes. "I'll go hang these up for you." She leaves with them.

She is so sketchy.

I pull on a dry pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and then slip into my lab coat. I look at the locker next to mine.

34. Brittany Fuentes

I can't wait for her to come back to work. She keeps me focused and I keep her distracted, it's a great way to work. I miss it.

I stuff everything into my locker and head out into the lab again. My station is all set up for me, paperwork and everything. Cira might be creepy, but she's really good at keeping me organized, and she's smart.

The paperwork on my desk is all the research I've been working on. I'm really on to something big. Britt and I had been working on it for months, a drug to slow the progression of Alzheimer's.

It's going to be big.

I lean against my desk and pick up some papers that have my notes scribbled all over them. There is just one thing that doesn't add up in the chemical equation, but I can't figure it out.

"Alex?" Cira asks, appearing at my side. "I mean, uh, Mr. Fuentes?" I smirk and nod for her to go on, "What do you need me to do?"

"Umm," I say, looking around. I really didn't have much for her to do today. I flip through some papers on my desk and pull out something random that she could work on, without really looking at it, I hand it to her. "Here, do this experiment out again, for better accuracy."

"Yes sir," she smiles and heads off to the lab station a few feet from my desk. I sit down and put my face in my hands. I'm fucking exhausted. I look down at the papers in front of me and reread everything I wrote before Britt went on bedrest. It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure what I have written makes absolutely no sense.

I sit there for a while, half falling asleep as I just stare at my notes trying to make sense of them.

"Alex, can you—" Cira starts, but she's interrupted by the beaker she's heating breaking into hundreds of pieces. I stand up fast, knocking half of my papers to the floor. She's coughing and covering her mouth. Before I have a chance to ask her if she's alright, I see that's she's not. She falls to her knees.

"Cira!" I yell, jumping over my desk and rushing to the lab station. I kneel at her side and see the panic in her eyes.

"I d-didn't mean to…" she says then coughs more, "…it wasn't supposed to heat up that fast…" I smell it then, the bitter smell of almonds. I look up and even though I can't see it, I know it's there.

"Hydrogen Cyanide…"

I feel the familiar tickle in my own throat and cough into my sleeve.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," I say, helping her up. I put her arm around my shoulders and head for the door, warning the others in the lab. I bark orders at people and they run outside.

That's when I hear it, the sound no one ever wants to hear at a place like this. The alarm goes off, and red lights flash. Contamination lockdown. The doors slam shut. We're trapped in here with this deadly gas.

"Everyone just stay calm," Mike says, covering his mouth with his hand. "Stay low to the ground, and help will be here soon."

Cira leans against me, gasping for air and not looking so hot. She needs medical attention soon, really soon—I cough and feel nauseous as my knees practically give out from under me…and she's not the only one.

**Uh oh…what's going to happen next? Is Alex okay? How many of you are googling 'Hydrogen Cyanide' as I speak!? This could be bad…correction…this IS bad. Review!**


	15. Chapter 15: Brittany

**Sorry guys, I know I've neglected this story for a long time…a very long time. is addicting, and my short story made top 5 and now has a little gold star. Check it out—it's called Finger-Painting. (Same username)**

**Brittany**

"Paco, shh, love, you're okay," I soothe, bouncing him against my shoulder while I try to make his formula. I manage to get it all in the bottle and open the microwave before the phone rings. I look over my shoulder, debating on letting it go to voicemail, but I answer it, balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear as I pick up the formula bottle.

"Hello?" I say, trying to keep Paco quiet while I talk.

"Mrs. Fuentes?" a voice says on the other end.

"Speaking," I answer, carrying the bottle towards the microwave.

"This is Memorial Hospital. We have a patient here by the name of Alejandro Fuentes. It seems there was a leaked toxin in his workplace and he's in the ICU…"

She keeps speaking but I don't hear. I can't hear. The bottle slips from my grasp and splatters my feet and floor. Paco cries.

"I'm on my way," I say quickly, hanging up the phone and leaning against the counter, trying not to faint or scream. I'm hyperventilating. This can't be happening. Not right now.

My body runs on auto-pilot, grabbing the baby bag and my jacket. I strap Paco down in his car seat and speed the entire way to Sierra's.

"Britt, what's wrong?" Sierra asks automatically when I open her door and walk in.

"Alex…the hospital called…can you watch Paco?"

Sierra nods and takes the baby from me, not asking any questions. Doug comes in from the living room and says something but I'm already out the door and back in the car.

I can't breathe. I can't cry. I can only drive…speed…to the hospital.

"Alejandro Fuentes, please, where is he?"

The nurse at the front desk gives me a blank stare before typing something into her computer.

"He's in the ICU, and isn't allowed any visitors, Miss…"

"Fuentes. Mrs. Fuentes. He's my husband, I need to see him."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Fuentes, you'll have to—"

I start running…past the front desk in the direction of the ICU. She'd calling after me but I don't care. I need to see him.

I follow my feet into a few random rooms, and then into his. My heart stops. I stand frozen in the doorway looking at all of the machines he's hooked up to. He has an oxygen mask covering half of his face, and his eyes are closed.

"Alex…" I breathe, leaning against the doorframe for support. He looks so pale…

My feet slowly carry me to his bedside, "Alex, baby, I'm here…you're going to be fine…" I choke a sob and run my hand along his cheek as much as I could before it comes in contact with the mask attached to his mouth and nose. He doesn't stir.

"You can't do this to me now, Alex…Paco needs you…he needs his father. I need you…" I lift his warm, limp hand and kiss it.

"Mrs. Fuentes?"

I look up, slowly looking towards the doorway. They can't make me leave. I will not leave him now.

"I'm Alejandro's doctor," he replies, and I stand, following him out into the hall, glancing back at Alex when I reach the doorway.

"What happened to him? Is he going to be alright?" I bombard him with questions right away.

"There was a Hydrogen Cyanide leak at the laboratory that your husband works at. We got to him in time, but his co-worker wasn't as lucky. He just needs rest, oxygen, and some fluids and he should be fine. He'll need to take a few days off from work—it would be best if he took it easy once we release him."

"What do you mean 'his co-worker wasn't as lucky'? Did they d—" I can't say it, not after coming so close to losing the love of my life.

"No, she is in recovery as well, she got the worst of it, it seems, she'll stay here for a while so we can monitor her condition, but she should be able to go home by the end of the week."

"And Alex?" I ask.

"Tomorrow if everything checks out," Alex's doctor replies.

I sigh. Good.

"Relax, Mrs. Fuentes, he should be fine."

I tense again, 'should be'…why can doctors never give you a straight answer?

The doctor places a comforting hand on my arm and takes his leave. I go back into Alex's room—doubt plaguing my mind because of the doctors attempt at reassurance, despite the fact that he told me he'd be fine.

"Don't leave me…" I whisper, taking his hand again and giving it a light squeeze. He squeezes it back weakly. I look up and his eyes are open a little. He looks at me through his dark lashes and slowly reaches for the oxygen mask.

"Alex, don't…" I put my hand over his but he continues to move the mask. My stubborn husband…

"I'm not going anywhere…" he answers, his voice raspy. This weak and hoarse voice sounded nothing like him.

"Shh, shh…don't try to talk…" I whisper, helping him to fit the mask back on. He does as told for once and stays quiet, moving himself over on the small bed, making room for me. I don't hesitate. I want him close.

I climb right next to him and run my hands through his hair as he closes his eyes again. I hum softly, lulling him back to sleep, confident now that he wouldn't leave me.

"_Te amo, Alejandro,_" I whisper, kissing his forehead and curling up at his side, closing my own eyes.

**Only a few more chapters and it's all over…hard to believe, I know. But there's going to be a little surprise in the next few chapters. I have to end this with a big, happy bang. I'm a sucker for happy endings3 Review?**


	16. Chapter 16: Alex

_**Alex**_

I don't think Britt got any sleep at all last night. Every time I woke up she was still stroking my hair, humming softly. I was more than grateful for her light humming; don't get me wrong, I don't know how hospitals expect you to get any sleep with all these machines constantly beeping like there's something wrong.

It's annoying as hell.

And now that Britt _is _finally asleep at my side, I really don't want to wake her—even if her arm is pressing against my bladder. My bladder full of fluids and antibiotics and God knows what else they've been packing into my body for the last twenty-four hours or so.

I groan internally and shift under Britt, opening my eyes to look at her—not even a sleep sigh for me changing her comfort level. She really is out cold. But even so she is a light sleeper; it won't take much for her to wake. I look around and find a little remote attached to my bed. Without really seeing it past the stupid oxygen mask on my face, I press a button.

The bed starts to move. _Mierda…_ I look back at Britt. Sound asleep still. I breathe a sigh of relief and look closer at the remote, narrowing my eyes and pressing the red button with a little cross on it. Makes sense, I guess. I keep my finger on the button, not really knowing how long I need to hold it for someone to come…in more ways than one. I really have to pee.

"Morning Mr. Fuentes, you called for a—" Common sense must have kicked in or something because upon seeing Britt still asleep next to me, she shuts up and comes to my side.

"Do you need something?" I hold up my fist, my thumb between my index and middle finger and twist my wrist from side to side: sign language for toilet… of which I could really use now.

The nurse, Kendra, understands completely and starts to detach me from my monitors. It figures that she knows sign language. I'm pretty sure I learned that from a nurse, along with some more interesting ones. Who knew that ice cream and blowjob were so similar?

"You're probably going to be a little bit shaky on your feet at first, and may get some lightheadedness as you stand, so just take it slow and easy…" she whispers, and I nod slowly, sitting up with her help. Luckily, Britt stays out cold during all this and I sit up fully, removing the oxygen mask. Kendra helps me to swing my legs over the edge of the bed, and I slide so my feet touch the floor.

I take a deep breath once free of the mask and feel a tickle in my throat. I cough into my arm and the nurse helps me to my feet. Man, she was completely spot-on about that lightheadedness and the shaky feet thing. I feel myself wobble slightly before Kendra steadies me. Britt's not going to like my not waking her, but I needed to call a nurse to help anyway.

"I'm alright," I assure the nurse, who then lets go of me and lets me go into the bathroom.

These freaking Johnny things—I think that's what they call them here—the hospital gown: worst invention on Earth. First off, there's like a string holding the back together, and it doesn't do anything, my Latino ass is still being showcased to anyone behind me. Second, you have to pull up the entire front of the piece of cloth to take a leak. Not the most practical piece of clothing. Third, Kendra, the nurse, is definitely staring at my ass. If Britt was awake, there'd be an issue…to say the least.

But she's not—even looking back from the bathroom door, she's still sound asleep. In fact, she's now taking up the spot I left behind, as well. She does that when I get up for work too—searches for my warmth. Not to mention, she's a bed hog to begin with. It usually works to my advantage though, she's a bed hog, I'm a blanket hog… although there has been a time or two when I end up on the floor with all the blankets. That's not so good.

"Mr. Fuentes?" Kendra starts and I interrupt,

"Call me Alex, I mean you can already see my ass in this thing, might as well be on a first name basis."

She laughs, and I swear I hear her mutter something about it being a nice ass. I ignore it, not even sure that she said anything in the first place. I stand in front of the toilet and I feel Kendra hovering to my left. I look up at her and she smiles brightly,

"Uh, _mujer_, a little privacy, _por favor?"_

"I can't leave you alone in your condition, Alex, and if you get lightheaded again then you'll need my assistance." I sigh softly and glance towards the bed, checking on Brittany before mumbling,

"For your sake, I hope my wife doesn't wake up." She laughs as if I'm kidding. She doesn't know Britt like I do.

"I'm just doing my job—and it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Why do I get the feeling she fought for my charts?

I shrug internally and decide to get this over with before Brittany wakes up and decapitates the hovering nurse…and more arguing wasn't going to bring me any relief. I am _very_ aware that she is watching, but I don't care anymore.

Once done I glance over at Kendra, who is sporting a teenage girl grin. I feel like whoever put me in this damn Johnny must have written something in my chart worth fighting for. _Verga grande? _Maybe.

I walk past Kendra and into the room, glancing at Britt again before whispering to Kendra,

"I think I'll take a walk…"

"Would you like a wheelchair?"

"No, I'm fine…" She nods and follows.

I have a feeling she's going to be hard to get rid of—especially since she's already seen _everything._

"My intern, Cira James…where's her room?" I ask. Kendra seems to understand what I'm getting at and she smiles,

"I'll take you there." She leads me down the long hallway and around a corner to room 67 in the recovery unit. I can see Cira through the window. She doesn't look good.

"How is she?" Kendra frowns slightly, not knowing the answer.

"Would you like me to check?" I nod and she enters the room, glancing at the monitors and then at the chart at the foot of the bed. She flips through the pages for a few minutes as I look at Cira's face. She looks asleep, but my gut told me that wasn't it.

"She's in a coma… her body shut itself down when the toxin entered her system. It's a defense mechanism of sorts…it's not too serious; she could come out of it in a few days, or a few weeks. We can't be sure."

"And if she doesn't?" That catches her off guard and she stutters for an answer. I sigh, "Just give me a minute alright?"

Kendra nods and disappears into the nearby nurse's station, leaving me alone. I can't believe all of this happened. One minute we were all fine and the next…two of us are in the hospital—one in a coma that she could never come out of. I should have looked at the paper better before I gave it to her…if I did she wouldn't be in here. She wasn't ready to do that experiment, but I was distracted…I just gave her the first thing I saw. Cyanide is dangerous in any form, she shouldn't have been handling it…I should have paid more attention…

"Alex? Alex!" I close my eyes and lean my forehead against the glass window separating Cira and I.

"Here it comes…" I mumble and keep my eyes closed,

"Relax, _mujer…_I'm fine, I just went for a walk."

"A walk? I just woke up in a hospital bed alone—your hospital bed. Do you realize how much that scared me? And you were just taking a leisurely walk through the hospital?"

"Brittany, calm down…" I open my eyes, looking at Cira once more, "I'm fine…"

"Alex…don't do that, this wasn't your fault. These kind of things happen…especially at the lab, you know that."

"I know, Britt, but I was distracted…if I had been paying more attention this never would have happened. I should have been paying more attention…"

"Alex…look at me…" she says, her voice small, but stern. I sigh again and look over at her slowly.

"Nothing you say is going to fix this _mujer_, or her…" She looks as if she's about to protest but simply agrees,

"I know." I move to look back at Cira but movement past Brittany catches my eye and I look down as a blond woman in her fifties comes up behind Brittany and walks into the room. I glance through the window and watch the woman pull a chair up to Cira's bedside and take her limp hand in hers. I watch her whisper something and start to cry,

"Cira's mom… Cira's all she has left…" I explain to Britt and turn away, starting back to my room. I can't watch that. I can't.

"Alex, you can't beat yourself up over this. It was an accident."

"Sure, Britt… whatever you say," I reply, feeling her come up beside me and take my hand in hers. I lace her fingers loosely with mine and search for her comforting touch that always seems to be there. It's there…just doing nothing to erase the image of Mrs. James crying over Cira's body from my mind. I wonder what she would do if she knew I am responsible for her daughter's state. She'd probably kill me…tell me 'better you than my daughter.' Maybe she's right…

"Alex, honey, this is your room…" I look back and frown. I knew that…I think.

I nod to Brittany and she gives me a strange look, one that says, 'that worries me.' It's the least of our worries now.

"I'm fine…_estoy bien…_I just need to sit down." She helps me over to the bed and I let her. She's just trying to help…and as much as I don't want her here, as much as I want to be alone right now, I need her here. She is the only thing in this world that will keep me sane.


	17. Chapter 17: Brittany

_**Brittany**_

"No. _¡En absoluto!_"

"I'm just saying it's something to think about, Alex," I reply, running a hand through my hair and rifling through the massive pile of bills on the table—bills that have been accumulating since before Paco was born.

"Out of the question, Brittany. _Hablo en serio…_ end of conversation."

I sigh and look at the outrageous amount of money we owe. We'd already had our cable turned off once, what was stopping electric or plumbing from taking action, as well?

And damn it, Alex was right to take away all my credit cards. We'd be in some serious trouble if he'd let me keep them.

Alex stands up and heads over to the counter, practically throwing his dirty dishes into the sink. I watch him. He's upset, and I know it is my doing. It hurt him to have me bring up borrowing money from my parents, and I knew it would…but things are starting to get out of control.

"Alex…don't be angry with me…" I say, watching him grip the counter as he looks out the window above the sink. I walk over and take his lunch dishes out of the sink, putting them into the dishwasher.

He looks over at me and sighs, relaxing against the counter some.

"I'm not angry at you, Britt…just, let's not include your parents in our financial problems. We can figure this out ourselves."

I nod and find myself in his strong arms, pressing tight against his chest. I breathe him in, taking in the scent that is purely Alex. My husband. My love.

"I promised you on the day you became my wife that I would provide for you and our family… I won't break my promise. Just trust me, we'll be fine…" Alex says against my hair, gently stroking it. I close my eyes and nod against his chest.

"I do trust you, Alex… I always have."

He gives me a squeeze and pulls back, cupping my face in his hands now and looking down into my eyes.

"When is Sierra dropping Paco off?" he whispers, brushing his thumb along my cheek.

"She said she'd drop by around three or four…she wanted to take him to the park and tire him out for us."

He moves closer.

"Alex…"

Closer.

"You just got out of the hospital three days ago—" he cuts me off with a powerful kiss, then pulls away to look in my eyes.

I know that look.

I breathe out a heavy, but content sigh and curl up against Alex. He runs his hand along my shoulder blades and back in a gentle caress.

"We should do this more often…" I smirk against his chest, kissing down his pectorals and then back up to his neck. He smiles and I lay my chin on his chest, relaxing.

"I agree, _mujer…_ much more often." He lightly runs his hand along my hair and I close my eyes. I hate to admit it but I love when we fight.

I take another deep breath and relax even more into Alex's embrace. His arms always had the power to do that. I melt in them each and every time, and somehow he always manages to keep me to him.

We both start to fall asleep in minutes…until, of course, I hear the front door open. I sit bolt upright in bed, not the bed decision considering, but I quickly cover myself and shush Alex as he goes to speak.

I point to the front door and quickly roll off the bed, scrambling for clothes as Alex gets up and peeks around the corner. We're acting like complete teenagers again. I glance at the clock and then at Alex, mouthing, 'Sierra?' at him.

He steps further into the hallway and quickly comes back in, his back to the door, "Worse. _Mi'ama…_"

"Alex? Brittany? Is anyone home?" she calls out, from I assume is the living room. I smirk, watching Alex frantic to make himself decent.

"We're in the bedroom, Mi'ama. We'll be right out," I call out.

"_Mierda…_" Alex mutters, looking around the room and then towards the hall.

"What?"

"My boxers are on the floor…in the living room…" I can't help myself now, I burst out laughing. I finish pulling on my shirt as Alex pulls on his pants—commando now, of course, and the dirty shirt he'd been wearing.

I walk over to him, adjusting his pants for him—purposely doing it wrong to tease him. He growls a bit, smirking and before he can do anything to get even I disappear down the hall. I hear him follow after me.

"_Mamá!_ What a nice surprise!" I smile, walking over to her and giving her a big hug. "We weren't expecting you."

"I know, I know, but Sierra called me and asked me to take little Paco off your hands to give you some alone time. She's meeting me here."

"Oh… well, okay," I laugh softly and step to the side, letting Alex give his mother a hug.

"_Usted no debe dejar su ropa sucia por todas partes, _Alex…" she says to him as he hugs her.

I know enough Spanish now to know she mentioned something about dirty clothes everywhere and I bite my lip, glancing down at the pair of now neatly folded boxers on the arm of the couch.

"Yes, _mamá_…" Alex says, grabbing the boxers and quickly getting them out of view. I bite my lip harder, once again, trying not to laugh.

His face is priceless. So is the silence that follows his reply.

It's broken soon by a knock on the door. I think _mi'ama _knocked too, but Alex and I were half asleep by then. I move to answer the door and _mama _touches my arm.

"If he sees his mother now, child, he won't leave quietly." I nod to her and she fixes her bag on her shoulder. "I'll see the both of you at your anniversary dinner on Saturday."

I smile and nod, glancing at Alex before giving _mama _a quick peck on the cheek as a goodbye. Alex nods a goodnight to her and she heads out the door.

Automatically, I hear Alex groan. Cue me bursting out laughing again.

I fall back onto the couch and he glares at me through the spaces between his fingers as he wipes his face.

"You think it's funny, _chica?_" he asks, stalking towards me. I smirk and nod, which sets him off again. He grabs me off the couch and I squeal a little in surprise as he once again sets off towards the bedroom. I'm not complaining, well, not until he takes a sharp turn into the bathroom.

"Alex, what are you—" he pulls aside the shower curtain and plops me inside, quickly turning the water on.

Cold.

I scream and thrash against him, the cold water hitting me like a thousand little pins and needles. Now he's laughing.

I stop fighting, soaking wet now and glare at him through my wet hair.

"You look good wet," he smirks.

"I hate you…" I mutter, trying to splash him with the water.

"Oh come on, Britt, don't be like that…" Alex smiles, making a mistake by reaching into the shower to touch me.

I grab his arm and pull—hard—he comes toppling into the shower against me, right under the stream of water. He lets out a long breath and looks into my eyes before kissing me passionately.

"Are we even?" I whisper, smirking and running my fingers up into his curly wet hair. He pulls back, looking into my eyes and then down at our soaked clothes we still wore.

"No. Not yet." A devious grin spreads across his face and I smirk right back, reaching to my left and leaning back against the wall as I turn the water up warmer and warmer.

"How about now?" I ask, playing with him again.

"Not even close…" he smirks, eyeing me hungrily again.


End file.
